Adrian Cox is an American photographer and yoga teacher based in Kobe, Japan. For over three decades, Cox dedicated his life to exploring the inner world, practicing and teaching yoga, breathwork, and meditation. This three-decade journey into ascetic and mystic traditions informs his artistic practice, guiding his curiosity to disciplines existing at the periphery of mainstream awareness.
After nearly two decades running a successful yoga school in Bangkok, Adrian moved to Japan, beginning an entirely new chapter. He has gained rare and intimate access to the hidden spiritual worlds of Japan, including the centuries-old practices of Shugendō and Japanese Tantric Buddhism—an opportunity few outsiders ever experience.
Adrian primarily photographs in the infrared light spectrum, a range of light invisible to the human eye. This medium serves as a central metaphor for his work, bridging the visible and the unseen, the mundane and the mystical. Through his lens, Adrian invites the viewer into the luminous and numinous spaces where the inner and outer worlds intersect.
Adrian Cox
An image I made at Mount Yudono became the cover of a forthcoming book on Shugendo by Shayne A.P. Dahl
The Mystics of Japan:
A Journey into Hidden Worlds
Mystics of Japan is an ongoing photographic project that documents the hidden spiritual landscape of the country, focusing on practitioners of esoteric Buddhism and Shugendō (the "way of mastering and testing spiritual power"). Adrian was drawn to these groups for their commonalities with the yogic asceticism he practiced for decades. Shugendō practitioners, known as yamabushi (mountain ascetics), blend ancient Japanese mountain worship, Shintō, and esoteric Buddhism, undertaking demanding physical and spiritual training (shugyō) in the mountains to achieve spiritual power.
The project is not purely observational; Adrian participates in the rigorous shugyō as both a practitioner and a photographer, a deeply transformative and challenging process that mirrors the ancient practice itself. The intense training, which includes arduous mountain treks and limited provisions, is undertaken while carrying heavy camera gear, demanding a profound level of focus and endurance.
The Process
The work is captured using a Sony A7RV converted to a full-spectrum camera, primarily capturing light at the 720nm range. This technical choice is central to the project's conceptual goals: by documenting hidden practices using an invisible light spectrum, Adrian reinforces the theme of existing "between worlds"—bridging physical effort and transcendent experience.
The final images are printed at the esteemed, multi-generational Awagami Factory on Shikoku Island. They are printed on either Bizan or Bamboo washi paper, continuing a centuries-old tradition that has been designated a 'Traditional Craft Industry' by the Japanese government. This use of natural washi, meticulously made using traditional methods, gives the final artwork a texture and depth that resembles a painting. The prints are then presented using a floating-mount technique by a master framer in Osaka, which highlights the unique deckled edge of the handmade washi paper, ensuring the ultimate presentation embodies the confluence of technology, ascetic discipline, and Japanese artistic handcraft.