These women dressed in period costumes for the Jidai festival in Kyoto. This is one of the three biggest traditional festivals in the city, which could be translated as "the festival of ages". Here, they wear costumes from the Heian period, which can be described as the last period of classical Japanese history and runs from 794 to 1185. It is considered to be the height of the imperial court and is famous for its arts, specifically its poetry and literature. The word "Heian" means "peace" in Japanese.

Several steps led Hans Silvester to discover the Empire of the Rising Sun. From a very young age, the photographer was already interested in Zen Buddhism and Japanese culture. Then, it was the images brought back in 1951 by the Swiss journalist Werner Bischof that struck him. The desire to go there slowly grew within him, and destiny held out its arms to him: in 1968, a supermarket chain offered him the project of taking photos in Japan to put in chocolate bars to build customer loyalty. Hans Silvester was asked to produce a "chocolate" book on the theme of Japan. He stayed there for a year and was able to experience the country intensively. Outside the cities, the photographer likes to say that he was an object of curiosity. Not being able to speak the language, he carried around little papers written in Japanese in his pockets, on which were written, among other things, "I am as clean as a Japanese" when negotiating room and board. In one year, Hans Silvester was able to capture the children of Tokyo in a very modern and graphic setting, as well as the Zen temples of Ryoanji and the helmeted demonstrations of Japanese students in 1968. 

Like Russian dolls, Hans Silvester takes us on a journey. In addition to transporting us to Japan, he takes us on a journey into the traditions and costumes of yesteryear, making us lose all our bearings with wonder! Retour De Voyage has been won over...