Kiss does a photo session in Kyoto, Japan

On 27. March 1977, Kiss did the legendary photo session at the Spirit Temple in Kyoto, Japan, with Bob Gruen who was the official photographer on their tour of Japan.

Bob Gruen:
“I was the official photographer on their tour of Japan. It was like Kissmania. The idea of their act has a lot of influence from the Japanese Kabuki in Japanese Theater. I felt like a general in the Kiss Army when we were in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. The first place Kiss went to was a giant Buddha, which I didn’t know was a very sacred shine to the dead. I was in the cab and the bus with Kiss was following the cab. I was showing the Polaroids to the cab driver and he would start driving and the bus would follow and we would go to that place. As we were coming up the hill to the shrine, I saw Mr. Udo {Tour Promoter} hustling down the hill. I didn’t know that he had tried to tell the monks who ran the place that we were coming. They objected strenuously. And rather than deal with a fight, he just kind of split. I didn’t have any idea what was up so we all just showed up and Kiss started piling off the bus. I start telling them to get in front of the statue like it’s a state park or something. There was some kind of discussion going on in the corner with the Japanese talking to the translators. I said to the translators, “Just keep them busy for a few minutes.” I set the band up, we took a bunch of pictures. A bunch of kids ran over and got in the pictures. Then we figured out we were being thrown out and we left. So I showed the cab driver the next picture and everyone got back in the bus and followed the cab to the next shrine. All the people who had been at the shrine were so freaked out that Kiss were there that they followed us the next place. So we had these huge crowds following us. By the time we left there and went to the third place, the Golden Pagoda, we had a huge line of thirty or forty cars following the Kiss bus. So it was this giant parade through Kyoto. After the third place, it was such a big mob we had to beat it back to the hotel!”
– “Kiss Behind The Mask: The Official Authorized Biography” by Ken Sharp & David Leaf.

Gene Simmons:
“Clearly when we went to Japan it felt like another planet because from a Westerner’s view, everybody looked the same. There was a height and color of hair. There were no blondes whatsoever. Everybody was five foot two. If at any time we felt like strangers in a strange land, that was it. We towered above them. We always wore our heels. We were close to seven feet tall. When we got off the plane we looked around and thought, “What planet is this?” The food was bizarre. People are eating suction cups and raw fish. The fans were a combination of the most well behaved and the most psychotic fans you’ve ever seen. They would stay seated because it was a rule with the cops there. If you rush the stage they get in there with the billy clubs and the dogs and that’s it. So they would remain seated while we played. At the end of the song the only thing that was missing was a Buddhist setting himself on fire. Then they’d sit back down.”
– “Kiss: Behind The Mask” by David Leaf.