On 17 September 1951, while he was in Tokyo, Werner Bischof wrote a letter to his wife Rosellina, telling her: ‘The trees are quite exquisite in Japan. You know the poems that tell of the wind blowing through the trees and the leaves. In the centre of the capital, with its ever-increasing bustle, I have discovered some tree shapes of breathtaking beauty, and have drawn them for you. I cannot believe that these people will ever stop venerating nature, that a time will come when they no longer shelter trees and flowers in their houses as symbols of what is noble and pure…’

Rosellina joined Bischof in Japan for three months. During that time, he took the photograph of the Shinto priests in the garden of the Meiji shrine in Tokyo. The story goes that he suddenly ran off and followed the priests. When he returned, he told Rosellina: ‘Now I have the picture of Japan!’ He realized the importance of his photograph immediately. It is also possible that he had in mind the famous screen painted by Master Hasegawa Tōhaku with a depiction of pine trees.

Here’s his contact sheet from that roll of film:

*Text and image from the Magnum website.