The cities of Kyoto and Nara are known throughout the world for their extraordinary beauty.

In Kyoto and Nara: The Soul of Japan, their modern state of serenity is well illustrated with depth and distinction in the photographs of Toshitaka Morita. Commentary by Philip Sandoz provides essential background information about the two historic cities.

Following the book's carefully laid-out design, the reader is taken from season to season and from the past to the present in a way that will remind onetime visitors of the peace and calm they experienced in Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, in tranquil gardens and elegant inns. Future visitors will find greater reason to finally take the trip they have dreamed of, to walk the worn paths past statues of smiling foxes, rows of red gateways, and roofs of tile shaped like cresting waves.

The seasons, the centuries, and the social state of the country have brought numerous changes to these two former capital cities. Still, Kyoto and Nara possess enough proof of former days of glory that even a first-time visitor will recognize that they are indeed the soul of Japan. In this volume photographer Toshitaka Morita and writer Philip Sandoz have recorded that soul admirably.