Working mainly in Kansai, Maeyama-san’s (@xxakaxxv) aim is to “move viewers with the beauty of scenic photographs.”

Maeyama-san’s recent photography of Byōdō-in Temple’s main hall has done just that.

Maeyama-san shared the four images on Twitter and captioned them:

Did you ever notice the image on the back of the 10 yen coin?

Byōdō-in Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture.

The main hall is called “The Phoenix Temple” for the architecture’s wing-shaped, upward-flaring roof, as well as for the two phoenixes atop the roof.

The vermillion illuminated temple against the backdrop of a cloudy night sky evokes a quiet sense of power, like the temple will remain standing long after all of us have turned to dust.

Just for comparison, I visited Byōdō-in Temple in late November, 2020 and took a few pictures myself. Let’s see how they measure up against Maeyama-san’s…

Of course they can't compare with Maeyama-san's photos but they aren't too bad for an iPhone 6s, right?

I challenge you to visit The Phoenix Temple yourself and try getting a better shot than me or (if you're really ambitious) Maeyama-san.

And for more of Maeyama-san’s great photography, check out his Twitter page!