Golden light is a series of flower images by photographer Keiichiro Muramatsu.

The flower arrangements are by the photographer himself. This style of flower arrangement is called “Nageire”. It features prominently in this collection, and emphasizes the natural state of wildflowers, ‘’thrown’’ into the tranquility of vase water. This series is inspired by Junichiro Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows. “And surely you have seen, in the darkness of the innermost rooms of these huge buildings, to which sunlight never penetrates, how the gold leaf of a sliding door or screen will pick up a distant glimmer from the garden, then suddenly send forth an ethereal glow, a faint golden light cast into the enveloping darkness, like the glow upon the horizon at sunset. In no other setting is gold quite so exquisitely beautiful.

You walk past, turning to look again, and yet again; and as you move away the golden surface of the paper glows ever more deeply, changing not in a flash, but growing slowly, steadily brighter, like color rising in the face of a giant. Or again you may find that the gold dust of the background, which until that moment had only a dull, sleepy luster, will, as you move past, suddenly gleam forth as if it had burst into flame.”

(JUNICHIRO TANIZAKI, LEETEʼS ISLAND BOOKS, 1977)

The splendor of gold is accompanied by a deep shadowy aspect. The beauty of gold not only magnifies the natural beauty of flowers, it also reflects a feeling of the impermanence of things and the transience of time. The flowers, water filled to the mouth of the vase, and the vase itself, are all enveloped in a golden light, representing ‘the vastness of infinity’ and bringing out the natural warmth of the tableau