KITSUNE

Like a silk curtain that blurs the line between the world of the living and the dead, the light cuts through the image and depicts phantasmagorical scenes that make us imagine the union of these worlds.

Kitsune is a mischievous spirit, a nature deity depicted as a fox who, with her shape-shifting abilities, can transform into a woman who roams at night—once through the moors, now through city streets.

In ultra-modern Japan, we see a world of contrasts: temples are skyscrapers, paper lanterns are neon signs, fog is smoke… but the legends continue, the spiritual endures, and where once there were trees and now there are buildings, there will still be “Kitsunes” wandering alone in search of their Ono.

                                                                                              Jaime López-Dóriga Juanes

In this project, I explore one of the legends of the Kitsune through a short journey across Japan, during which I discovered how tradition and modernity intertwine and coexist.

In these photographs, I strive to reflect that duality in my own way. I contrast the spirituality of the forests, with their mysterious light, against the bustling streets filled with neon advertisements. I perceive the temples in the midst of megacities as small oases amid the chaos.

I sought the Kitsune in the female figures walking alone—at train stations, in villages, or in the cities at night. I saw in them spirits wandering through the world of the living.