Looking out from Kiyomizu

Kiyomizu-dera Temple is often described as one of the most famous temples in Kyoto, and for good reason. A wooden stage juts out from the temple's main hall onto the cliffside, which gives a beautiful view of the natural landscape below. Being one of my favorite temples I visited in Kyoto, I instantly knew I had to base my composition on my first visit to Kiyomizu-dera since the experience affected me so much. From the start of the composition process, I used a symbolism of sorts for each group of instruments, with the strings representing the changing view of the landscape, and the flute symbolizing someone looking out over the landscape, reacting in different ways to what they see. However, as I continued composing I realized that these roles should be reversed, and so in the second half of the piece the strings react to what the flute is playing, portraying a kind of spiritual communication between the landscape and its viewer.

Ultimately, besides being about Kiyomizu-dera, this piece for me represents a larger metaphor for my experience in Japan as a whole from my perspective as a foreigner, looking at everything with extreme fascination and asking myself: “Am I really seeing this?”

Live recording from the premiere performance at the Kyoto City University of Arts