Same Sun Same Moon

By Pico Iyer

This elegant collaboration pairs Michael Kenna's luminous black-and-white landscapes with Pico Iyer's contemplative prose, tracing the parallels of two lives lived in motion.

Though they didn't meet until they were both in their sixties, photographer Michael Kenna and writer Pico Iyer had been unknowingly following similar paths for decades. Both were born in England, studied near Oxford in the 1970s, moved to the U.S. West Coast, and fell in love with Japan.

Kenna's work -- minimalist, often made in long exposure -- captures fleeting moments of calm and clarity: a fog-bound canal in Venice, a deserted jetty in Mallorca, a line of trees dissolving into snow in Hokkaido. Spanning fifty years and five continents, these photographs offer meditations shaped by light, shadow, and quiet transformation.

In prose that mirrors the restraint and depth of the images, Iyer writes about travel, childhood, coincidence, and the invisible threads that connect us.

A profoundly personal collaboration between two legendary artists.Beautifully printed and designed to encourage slow reading and close looking.60+ of Kenna's prints are accompanied both by reflections from both him and Iyer. An unprecedented book weaving together photography, poetry, travel writing and more.With focus on Japan, other countries included are India, China, France, Italy, among others.
A book that will inspire art lovers, writers, travellers, and anyone drawn to the subtle interplay of image and word, solitude and connection.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3791394053
• ISBN13: 9783791394053
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Prestel Publishing
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 10.4"