In northern Japan, a lone wooden structure rises from an icy platform amid frosty shallows. Its striking red frame, draped with icicles, stands against a monochrome horizon that stretches into the distance, timeworn yet steadfast, a quiet threshold between worlds. For Canadian photographer Ulana Switucha, who has spent decades tracing Japan’s spiritual landscape, such moments of stillness are both subject and practice. Her new series and photobook, Torii, are the culmination of years spent traveling Japan to photograph the country’s most iconic and sacred gateways.

Torii, the elegant red gates that mark the entrance to Shinto shrines, are among the most iconic symbols of Japan. Traditionally built from wood or stone, their simple yet striking form, two vertical posts crossed by a horizontal beam, signifies the transition from the ordinary to the sacred. According to Shinto belief, passing through a Torii marks one’s passage into a purified space inhabited by kami, the divine spirits believed to dwell within nature. Whether standing at the edge of the sea, deep within forests, or before a mountain shrine, these gates are both physical markers and spiritual metaphors: bridges between the human and the divine.

*Ulana Switucha, Arashi, Kanto, Japan. 2024*

Her interest in them began decades ago, when she lived in Japan. Since then, she has returned regularly, drawn by a deep and enduring connection to the country’s spiritual traditions and landscapes. “These photographs are part of a long-term journey photographing the Japanese spiritual landscape in both known and remote locations,” she explains. “The journey began when I was a resident in Japan, continued over the years with regular visits, and will carry on into the future.”

For the artist, Torii are far more than architectural symbols. They are reminders of reverence, of harmony between humankind and nature. “When I see a Torii or a meoto iwa in a natural setting, I instinctively slow down and reflect on my surroundings,” she says. “I see the soft colours of Sakura, the brilliance of autumn, the scent of a forest. I hear the gentle rhythmic sound of waves.”

Her images are striking in their restraint and purity, deliberately reducing the forms to their quiet, essential core. “By using simple, often minimal, compositions I try to communicate not only the diversity and elegance of the architectural forms in their landscape, but also the stillness that comes with the experience of being present,” she explains. The act of photographing becomes, for her, a kind of meditation — a practice of patience and presence. “Each time, waiting and watching for the right light, or for the tide to come in, was a form of meditation and of mono no aware: the recognition of permanence and intransience.”

Many of the locations she photographs are far from the tourist trail. Ulana seeks solitude and discovery, often finding lesser-known Torii through meticulous research or chance encounters. “While some of the Torii in this project are recognizable, many are in lesser-known places found through both painstaking research and unexpected discovery,” she notes. In these quiet landscapes, the boundaries between nature, culture, and spirit blur, and the viewer is invited to pause and reflect.

*Ulana Switucha, Ariake, Kyushu, Japan, 2019*

Torii is more than a collection of images; it is an invitation to journey through Japan’s unseen spiritual landscape, to slow down, observe, and reconnect with a sense of quiet reverence. “The book takes you through a journey of discovery,” Ulana says. “One begins by arriving at sea… before slowly wandering from one floating Torii to another. Along the way, you are invited to participate in your own reflection and meditation.”

Ulana Switucha | Torii, an exhibition and book launch, is on view at Blue Lotus Gallery from 15 November until 14 December 2025