NOSTALGIA SERIES
In media and advertising, nostalgic images are associated with sentimentality about the past, which is often not a real memory but rather a socially created image that strongly influences the emotions of people. In this series, I research nostalgia through photographs.
Local Ramen contest
Ramen is one of Japan’s favourite dishes. While ramen chefs pursue the latest flavour, the image of ramen is associated with nostalgia: the year of Showa (1926 to 1989), the good old days of Japan. The theme of the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum that fully represents Ramen culture, is exactly that of Showa nostalgia. I researched visual images of nostalgia by capturing the installation and design of the museum’s interior buildings. What is a nostalgic feeling if nostalgia is not a personal memory but a socially created image?
ノスタルジアを考える（作品群）
ノスタルジアとは過ぎ去った過去を懐かしむこととされ、社会から一方的に与えられたイメージであり実際の記憶ではない場合が多い。撮影を通してノスタルジアについて考えた作品群。
ラーメンと誰のでもない思い出
日本人が大好きな食べ物のひとつのであるラーメン。作り手は常に最新の味を追求している一方、そのイメージと言えば昭和でノスタルジック、懐かしさを感じさせる。ラーメン文化を最大限演出した新横浜ラーメン博物館のテーマはまさに昭和ノスタルジア。この内部演出を撮影し、ノスタルジアのビジュアルイメージをリサーチした。ノスタルジアが存在しない作られたイメージである場合、ノスタルジックな懐かしい気持ちとは何なのか。記号としてのノスタルジアを考えた。
First model Walkman in collodion process
Do old photographic images just remind us of nostalgic feelings? Documenting Sony Walkmans, the representation of the symbolic Japanese product of the Showa period in a collodion process, which was used in the Meiji period in Japan, created a finished photograph admixing two different eras of nostalgia.
初代ウォークマン
昭和の日本を代表するプロダクト「ウォークマン」を明治の写真技法「湿版写真」にて撮影することで、それぞれの時代のもつノスタルジアを混ぜました。
New method of photographing suburban monuments
Suburban commercial districts are everywhere outside of medium- to big-sized cities in Japan. Major landmarks in such locations include clothing chains, DIY stores, electric shops, car dealers and fast food shops. Even if I document this situation now, these photographs, in the future, may gain different meanings through added nostalgia from the viewers. I challenged the photographic method to avoid ‘nostalgialization’.
新・都市郊外のモニュメント撮影法
どの都市も郊外に行けば出会うことのできる大型店舗。ショッピングモールや洋服のチェーン店、DIYショップから家電、自動車、ファストフードを売るお馴染みの店が立ち並びランドマークとなっている。この様子を説明するため写真を撮ったとしても、数十年の時を経れば写真を見る側からノスタルジアの感覚が入り、本来の伝えたい事が薄くなる可能性もある。ノスタルジー化を避ける撮影法について考えた。
Through this project called “Here, I placed the chrysanthemum”, I wanted to research the current forms and appearances of life and death through the funeral industry. While a funeral is a holy ritual, its industry is large and strongly connected to the capitalistic economy; farmed chrysanthemums, auctions of flowers, large funeral space designs and stage decoration by the florist.
Flower altars were first used in 1967 at the funerals of Shigeru Yoshida, the Japanese prime minister at the time. Afterwards, the use of flower altars became popular and spread to all the layer of society.
Chrysanthemum is the main flower used during funerals in Japan. It is thought that it comes from their use in French funerals but it may also be a combination of this and the fact that the chrysanthemum is the emblem of Japan. Before 20th century, funeral ceremonies were religious processions between the place of death and place of burial or cremation, usually taking place at night. Choumin Nakae, a philosopher didn`t want any religious funerals and asked his family to simply organise his cremation. At his death in 1901, his family respected his wishes and, also had a small gathering at their home. This new approach of having gathering at a place rather than a procession was reported in the newspapers and gradually spread in Japan. After the 2nd world war, when the economy was at its lowest, a system called Mutual Association was created by a funeral director (Kumahiko Nishimura): every month people gave some money to a company endorsing this system, money which was then used to cover the cost of religious wedding and funeral. These companies, being able to buy services and equipment in mass (e.g. building ceremony halls, making altars, etc.) were then able to offer low price to each subscriber. Attracted by this profit-making business, many companies originally not in the field of wedding or funeral, decided to join this business, which led to the expansion of the funeral business during the bubble years, and when Japanese economy was at its peak, people used to spend vast amount of money for funerals. Nowadays, funeral parlors and flowers companies adapt their offers to cater for every budget but also for different religions (Buddhists, Shintoists and Christians).
Because of the current economy, big expensive funerals and thus flower altars are rare. When they happen, they are usually company funerals (e.g. the president of the company dies). In that case, clients and colleagues attend the ceremony and the ceremony can be attended by 500 persons. These funerals can cost up to 39000 euros (7800 euros being for the flowers only).
But nowadays the main business is for much smaller funerals and the florists work hard to keep up with this situation, finding creative solutions to cater for smaller budgets. (Budget for these are around 20000 euros among which 1/10th of the price goes to flower arrangement.)
“Here, I placed the chrysanthemum” is a is a research of the different dimensions behind the funeral flower arranging industry. To translate these different dimensions I used a combination of 3 different photographic approaches.
The first one, in a photo reportage style, show the industry as commercial business: the people, facilities, etc.
The second one, show the idea that although commercial industry, it is an industry devoted to the dead. I simplified and beautified this by using chrysanthemums modified by round mirror, one of three sacred treasures of Shinto. The round shape also reminds of circles drawn behind the heads of Buddha in Buddhism or saints in Christianity, where they act as spiritual artefact.
The third one, inspired by the typologies of Bernd and Hilla Becher, documents the funeral altars.
Advertisement Lunch Mat
Advertisements that come with newspapers display the end of the local economies across Japan. I created these photographs to demonstrate the everyday reality that people are never disconnected in their lives from economic activities in terms of price competition as well as marketing to the end-user for expand consumption. This idea originated from my own experience of using advertisements as lunch mats when I was a teenager.
チラシのランチマット
定期購読の新聞に挟み込まれるチラシは、日本全国それぞれの地域における経済活動の末端を表している。私が１０代の頃、チラシをランチマットとして使用していた経験を重ね、人々の日常生活がこのような価格競争や消費の拡大を促す経済活動から切り離せない事実を表現した。
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1972年の札幌冬季オリンピック開催地や記念館をめぐり現在の様子を観察します。
Light leaks Tomari
Old worn out film bags (X-ray proof bag) overlap the worn out Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, Japan. I expressed anti-nuclear power sentiments by leaking light through film bag, which results in leaking the film to light. Models in this photographs are people from Fukushima who decided to relocate to Sapporo after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.
光漏れとまり
くたびれたフィルムを収納するフィルムバックというものにくたびれた泊原発を重ねた作品。フィルムバックから光が漏れてフィルムを感光事故にさらすように古い考えの原発の不用を表現した。被写体になってる人々は実際に福島の原発事故のために福島から札幌に移住を決めた人々である。
