Gezicht op twee stenen bassins voor heilig water die deel uitmaken van het Taitoku-in mausoleum in het tempelcomplex Zojo-ji in Shiba, Tokyo, Japan before 1903

This photograph of two stone basins in Tokyo was taken by Kusakabe Kimbei. It's a monochromatic image, a whole world rendered in shades of grey. It’s not about one single dramatic moment, but more of a slow, steady way of seeing. I see the temple complex captured here as a set of repeated shapes, with a focus on horizontal lines. The light seems to flatten everything out, making the image feel more like a drawing or print than a photograph, more about texture and form, less about illusionism. Look at the way the different planes recede into the distance, the textures and patterns of the rooftops, the gravel. The basins themselves, and the geometry of the architecture around them seem to quietly observe the photographer. It makes me think of Atget, who similarly spent years documenting the changing face of old Paris. Like Atget, Kimbei creates not just a record, but an atmosphere, a feeling of being in a place and time that is both specific and timeless.