Kirie, the traditional Japanese art of paper cutting, is definitely a delicate craft. Making use of negative space and relying on painstaking and intricately carved designs, it's safe to say it requires a lot of work to produce even what you might consider a simple piece. Considering that will have you appreciate the work of talented Japanese paper cutting artist, whose paper-cut depictions of nighttime cityscapes in Japan are so gorgeously made that they have people in disbelief they aren't actual photos!

The level of detail Saito captures is truly stunning, and at first glance his work really does look like actual photography, which has many online seeing it for the first time stunned. Saito says that his work is based on photos he took himself, mostly around Tokyo. Most pieces take Saito roughly a month to complete, but the magnificent cherry blossom scene took about four months.

It's easy to see why. The sakura piece is tripled layered, and the size and color of the flowers are adjusted so that the viewer can feel the depth of the scenery.

You can get a closer look at the number of meticulous incisions and details Saito masterfully makes on black paper in this "behind the scenes" look at a fireworks piece:

You can follow Saito on Twitter for even more outstanding paper cut art, as well as updates on any exhibitions he may take part in.