Dance of Summer — A Japanese Festival Print from Iwaki, Japan

Description

“Dance of Summer” is a Japanese festival print made on 35mm color film — a line of dancers in vermilion-red yukata caught mid-motion at a Bon Odori on a summer night in Iwaki, Fukushima. Rather than freeze the dance, the photograph lets it blur, so colour and movement become the subject and the figures dissolve into streaks of red and gold.

A Japanese Festival Print Shot on Film at Bon Odori

This Japanese festival print was shot on a Leica M6 TTL rangefinder loaded with Lomography 400 color film, with a slow shutter that lets the dancers smear into ribbons of light. Film is what gives the image its character: warm halation around the lanterns, a soft grain across the frame, and reds and oranges that feel remembered rather than recorded. The near dancers glow crimson against the dark asphalt while a second group in indigo yukata dissolves into cool blue behind them.

The Blur of a Bon Odori Summer Night

Bon Odori is the dance of Obon, the August festival when communities gather after dark to move together in a slow, circling rhythm. Here the dancers raise their arms in the choreographed gesture of the dance, their red yukata patterned in white, bright obi sashes flaring orange, white tabi and geta flashing beneath. By letting the motion blur, the picture trades sharp detail for feeling — the collective sway of the crowd, the warmth of the night, and the fleeting, dreamlike quality of a summer festival that is gone by morning.

A Vivid Japanese Festival Print for Any Space

Warm, kinetic and full of colour, this Japanese festival print brings energy and a sense of movement to a wall. Its impressionistic blur reads almost like a painting from across a room, then resolves into dancers as you approach — a bold, atmospheric focal point for a living room, studio, or any space that could use a little of the heat and motion of a Japanese summer.

Print Quality

• Paper:
  • A3+ (32.9 x 48.3 cm / 13 x 19 inches) – Hahnemühle 325 gsm FineArt Baryta Glossy
  • A2 (42 x 59.4 cm / 16.5 x 23.4 inches) – Hahnemühle 300 gsm FineArt Baryta Satin
  • Both are bright white, museum/gallery grade, acid-free, and lignin-free, ensuring archival quality with resistance to aging for hundreds of years.
  • Offers high color depth and a large color gamut for vibrant colors and rich blacks.
• Inks: Epson UltraChrome K3 pigmented inks for exceptional color accuracy and archival properties, including three levels of black for improved grayscale balance and enhanced black density.

Edition Information

• Open Edition: No set limit on the number of copies printed.
• Each print is hand-signed by the photographer and includes a certificate of authenticity.

Print Details

• Listed sizes refer to the paper size, not the image. Each print is centered on the sheet with a 1 to 2 cm border for framing.
• Because image proportions vary, the picture may not fill the entire sheet — a square image, for example, fills the paper’s shorter side (minus the border), leaving an unprinted margin along the longer edges. This is intentional and preserves the full, uncropped composition.
• Custom Sizes Available Upon Request.

Shipping Information

• Worldwide shipping from Japan.
• Japan Post EMS Express Mail (FedEx available upon request).

Custom-Made Prints Available

Looking for a custom size or framing option? Custom-made prints of this “Dance of Summer” Japanese festival print and other works are available upon request. Contact us for details.

Bring This Japanese Festival Print Into Your Home

More than a photograph of a festival, this Japanese festival print is a keepsake of one warm Bon Odori night in Iwaki — movement, colour, and the quiet magic of a Japanese summer, held still on archival paper. Bring “Dance of Summer” home and let the dance keep going.

More Japan & Travel Prints

One of several color prints from festivals and everyday life across Asia. See more:

• Japanese Aesthetic Art — floating lanterns at a Toro Nagashi festival in Iwaki.
• Sunflower Art Print — a golden sunflower on Kodak Gold film, Japan.
• Vietnamese Lantern Print — a Hoi An silk-lantern shop, Vietnam.
• Coastal Wall Art — a fisherman on the Da Nang shore, Vietnam.
• Philippines Art Print — a kalesa carriage in Angeles City, Philippines.