Syoin Kajii

Born in Niigata, Japan in 1976. Lives and works in Niigata. Graduated from Koyasan University in Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism) in 1999. After having served Buddhist apprenticeship at Koyasan (Mt. Koya) from 1995 to 1999, he started his career as a photographer while being a monk of the Singon Sect in Sado Island. In 2004, he was awarded the 1st FOIL Award for his series of pictures in which he took a succession of waves on a shore in Sado. Following the FOIL Award, he published photo book NAMI and was awarded the Rookie of the Year 2005 by The Photographic Society of Japan for this overwhelmingly energetic and spiritual book. Having visited various countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Papua New Guinea and Britain, he has been continuously photographing of waterscapes as well as ruralscapes.

NAMI is a series of photos of waves around the shores of Sado Island in Japan. The photographer, a young Buddhist monk named Syoin Kajii, watches the water patiently, waiting for a moment of surprise.