Silver Week- Travel Photography in Japan

Respect For The Aged Day.

Not a few folks have asked why the travel photography on the kc kratt photography website is titled “Silver Week”.   I’d never heard the phrase, and didn’t know the tradition until I visited Japan.  There, Respect for the Aged Day is an annual holiday celebrating the importance of the elderly in Japanese society.  It falls on the third Monday of September and, some years, begins a week of civic celebration that promotes tourism, travel and gift giving with a special focus on Japan’s revered senior citizens.  Hence the name “Silver Week.”

As I toured the island, I was fascinated by the constant presence of past and present, ancient and modern that characterizes contemporary Japanese life...gleaming temples...trendy hipsters on their mobiles...ancient pines...shimmering skyscrapers.  I came to think of my time in Japan as a “silver week”, and my images, as a reflection of all the intricate circles of past and present that intersect our lives every day.