Metamorphose　(2017)

In this series, I am photographing my eldest daughter who is turning 13. She lives a good life, lacking in nothing, and I see her growing daily, mentally and physically, from her gestures, words, and attitudes.Looking back, I also went through a similar phase in my life. However I remember myself being rather awkward, and do not have much good memories from that time. At school I clashed with my classmates, and constantly stood up against my teachers. At home I rebelled against the words of my parents, although thinking back, it probably came from my anxieties about the future. Although I was troubled about my life choices or friends, I thought that I would get through on my own, without consulting anyone. Many years have passed since then. I became an adult not knowing when, and although I did shed the shell in which I’d shut myself inside, I married and conceived my daughter, all the while keeping the small and weak chrysalis from the past within my heart. I gave birth to a new life without ever having the conviction of having turned into a butterfly.Facing my daughter now who is growing up to be an adult, I cannot but think about what a beautiful season 13 is. I am constantly in simply awe-struck by the beauty of her change. Did I also once possess such unsoiled, beautiful body? Is that small gesture of rebellion when she pouts towards the camera, same as what I once directed towards my mother?Photographing this series had an additional effect for me where I was able to take a second look at myself while projecting myself on my daughter. By repeatedly incorporating a memorable motif of butterflies into my works, I was given the chance to look in comparison at myself, small and weak, with my daughter, radiant and flying as lightly as a butterfly. In the end, I was able to realize that I too, once had a time when I shed my horribly feeble self and became a woman, as my daughter is doing now.  私はこのシリーズで、13歳になる私の長女を撮影している。娘はなに不自由なく暮らしているが、身体のみならず精神的にも日々成長していることがその仕草、言葉遣いや態度からうかがい知ることができる。思えば私自身にもそのような時間があった。私はどちらかというと不器用で、その時間に関してはあまりいい思い出がない。学校では友人とぶつかり、教師の言うことにはいちいち反発していた。家では親の言葉に歯向かっていたが、今から思い起こせば、自分自身の身体や心の成り立ち、将来に不安があったのだろう。進路のことや友人関係のことで悩んでも、一人で抱え込みさえすればやり過ごせると感じていたのだ。それから何年もの月日が流れた。いつのまにか大人になった私は、自身が閉じこもっていた殻を脱ぎ捨てはしたものの、小さく弱々しい過去のサナギを心に住まわせたまま結婚して娘を授かった。私は蝶になるという実感を持たないまま、新たな命を産み落としたのだ。今、成長して大人へと変わっていく娘と向き合ってみると、13歳という美しい季節について考えずにはいられない。私は、娘の美しい変節にいつも素直に驚嘆の思いを抱いている。穢れのない美しい肢体は、かつて私にも備わっていただろうか。口を尖らせて私のカメラに向き合う小さな反抗は、私が私の母に向けた仕草と同じだろうか。このシリーズを撮影するということ。それは、娘に私自身を投影しながら私自身を見つめ直すという副次的な作用をもたらした。作品に印象的な蝶のモチーフを取り入れることで、私は小さく弱々しい自分自身と、華やかで軽やかに飛ぶ蝶のような娘とを対比して眺める機会を得たのだ。そしてやはり、私も現在の娘同様、ひどく弱々しい幼さを脱ぎ捨てて、女へと変化を遂げた時間があったのだと実感することができたのだ。

Seeking the Elements of Stillness　(2017)はじまり を探して

This was the town I was born in, and it’s where I lived for the first 26 years of my life. It was a small seaside town with fields spreading across the landscape, but there was nothing particularly distinctive about it. Back then, I didn’t have any special feelings for the town. It was just a place to carry out my daily activities, repeatedly and aimlessly.It has been 17 years since I left this town. When I went back to visit for the first time in a long time, the town, which used to have nothing, had changed. Paths had appeared out of nowhere. New roads and houses had been built, and many people had moved there. I was a little surprised. I had never expected this town to change. However, I noticed that a certain element of stillness remained. The town, in a sense, was just the way it used to be. I realized then that, in fact, I had cultivated a variety of things from these fields, and this town, of “nothing."In my current life, I no longer see things the way I used to. Now, I am seeking subconsciously what I left behind in this small town—a town I had once lived in and taken for granted. 生まれてから26年間住み続けたこの町は、特に目立つ何かがある訳でもない、田畑が広がる小さな海辺の町だった。私にとってこの町は、好きでもなく嫌いでもなく、そして出ていく理由もない、ただぼんやりと日々の営みを繰り返してきただけの場所だった。この町を離れて17年経った。久しぶりに訪れると、何もなかったはずの町が随分と変わっていた。道のなかったところに道が出来、新しい家々が建ち、意外にも住む人が増えていた。私はすこし驚いた。変わらないと思っていたこの町が…という想いにかられた。しかし、かつて私と共にあった"何もない"もひっそりと息づいていた。何もないと思っていたこの町から、私は様々なことを培われていたのだと気づく。今の生活の中に、かつて私が見てきたものはない。当たり前のように過ごしてきた町の中に置いてきてしまったものを、私は今無意識のうちに探している。

Inner Scream　(2016-On-going)

I am trying to express my internal world - such as my past experiences or the thoughts that have forged my identity - through photographs. This is a self-healing process. It's as if I am picking up the pieces of my memory and putting them together like a puzzle.

Summer at the age of 12　(2016)　12歳の夏

My oldest daughter AKANE is in the summer at the age of 12. The age of 12 is just before adolescence as well as the last year of preteen. It is a short period of time that a girl transitions from a child to an adult both physically and mentally. This is the most beautiful, delicate and precious period.It is very important for me to save her ephemerally beautiful period that passes away like a wind. This is because she is not aware of being in such a beautiful transition, just like I was not. As often is the case, it is only much later that we realize how important a thing was. I see myself at the time in her, and take a shot of the girlhood I lost. The shining life of the age that goes through physical and mental changes is really dazzling. Her summer at the age of 12 is a short-lived glow.私の長女AKANEは12歳の夏を迎えた。12歳というのは、思春期直前、プレティーン最後の年齢である。子供時代から大人時代へ、心も身体も大きく変化していく、最も美しく繊細で大切な、短い少女時代である。私にとって、風のように過ぎてしまう彼女の短くも美しい時代を残すことはとても重要であった。なぜなら、私自身がそうだったように、彼女はその美しい変化の最中にいることに気づいていないからだ。大切なことは、往々にして後で気づくものだ。私は彼女の中に当時の自分を重ね、失ってしまった少女時代を写し撮る。心身ともに大きく変化する年頃の命の輝きは強烈に眩しい。12歳の夏は、一瞬の輝きなのである。

Ordinary days is beautiful　(2010-2016)

I have three daughters. They are so special to me. Also I think “Children” like them is a hope and a future in this world. Therefore, I thought I want to take photos of their lively figures as my works because they are the most beautiful existence for me.Shooting locations are not special. In my house, a park near my house, recreation facilities, seaside, and so on. There are various kinds. I want to take photos all expressions of subtleties that they show in their childhood as many as possible. So I always think that lively and silently movements of children are also one of the parts of beautiful sights, when I take photos.The reason of why I developed these my works in black and white, I hoped that the viewers who see my works feel free to draw various colors in their minds. So, I hope that their colors in their mind will be so rich, brilliant, and beautiful.In my this series, even if the world becomes full of difficulties, I want to convince that peaceful beautiful world can be consisted by returning to childhood that everyone had as there were hopes and dreams to the future without a fear.私には3人の娘たちがいる。彼女たちは私にとってかけがえのない存在である。そして彼女たち「子供」はこの世界の希望であり、未来だとも思っている。そこで私は、私にとって最も美しい存在である彼女たちの生き生きとした姿を撮影し、作品にしたいと考えた。　撮影場所は特別ではない。家の中、公園、レジャー施設、海辺などさまざまだ。そのどんな場所でも見せる、彼女たちの子供時代のあらゆる機微の表出をできうる限りありのままに撮影したいと思っている。なぜなら、私は常々、子供たちの躍動や静寂も美しい景色の一部だという思いの元に撮影しているからだ。この作品をモノクロームにしたのは、彼女たちの色彩は観覧者の心に任せ、自由に描いて欲しいと願ったからである。もちろんその色彩は豊かで、眩しく、キラキラと輝くに違いない。私はこの作品で、世界がたとえ困難に溢れかえっていても、誰にでもあった、怖れもなく希望に溢れ未来を夢見ていた幼き日々に立ち戻ることで、穏やかで平和な美しい世界が成り立ちうることを示したい。

Fruits　(2016-On-going)