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Perpetual Zenith #1

For the weary travelers, Japanese post towns, shukuba (宿場), provide a much-needed respite from a long journey across mountainous areas of the land of the rising sun. In the mountain region of Nagano, one such small town is seated deep in the valley. Its name is Tsumago-juku.

It’s not easy traveling to different shukubas. There are no hotels around and only a few ryokans (旅館), Japanese inns, are scattered around the valley. The famous shinkansen carrying salarymen and tourists don’t pass nearby. An intrepid traveler could possibly resort to a car or an occasional bus running on Japan’s strict but sparse rural schedule.

The building where the tea-making and fire ceremonies take place was built for an off-chance visit by daimyos (大名), powerful feudal lords that controlled most of Japan in historic times. A story of this place is that a daimyo did pass there once, staying briefly for a half-hour rest before getting on the road again.

The architecture of the building is designed to let in sunrays. Catching a rare sunray symmetry is possible only for a few minutes when the sun is at its zenith on a sunny day, and only for just a few months in a year. On an overcast day, or when the sun is at a sharper angle, the rays aren’t visible or aligned.

Date: February 2019 Camera: Fujifilm X-T2 Lens: Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R Shutter speed: 1/500 Aperture: f/2.5

Edition of 33

Creator

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Ev Tchebotarev

tchebotarev.eth

Photographer turned startup founder. Ev Tchebotarev is a co-founder at Sloika, curated marketplace for high quality photography. Over 500 happy creators. Ev previously founded 500px, a global photo-sharing marketplace, and later was Chief Growth Officer at Skylum for over 3 years. Stay curious, frens.

Properties

Rights

Extended Editorial

Location

Tsumago-juku, Nagano, Japan

Sun Position

Zenith

Genre

Documentary photography

Photographer

Ev Tchebotarev

Year

2019

Artist

Ev Tchebotarev

Edition

1/33

Dimensions

5565x3478

Filetype

JPG

License

Extended Editorial

Can be used to display privately, or in commercial and non-commercial settings, or in groups with an unlimited number of participants. The license includes unlimited use and display in virtual or physical galleries, documentaries, and essays by the NFT holder. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works.

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