I have a lot of feelings about this work. “The editing is quite unreasonable.” It’s edited like a painting with its contours, but the image quality is rough, so how is it as a photograph? I have a question, but I think it would be nice if you could think of it as a painting. When I exhibited in Beijing in fall, 2017, I was bombarded with questions from people who seemed to be young students. I can’t forget the look in their eyes, whether it matched their sensibilities or whether it broke the conventional concept of photography.
“Kimono” is a traditional Japanese dress, and the common people wore cotton, but expensive clothes like the ones you see here use silk fabric. Even today, many Japanese people wear it as a formal attire for coming-of-age ceremonies and weddings.
The background is a folding screen, and the kimono worn by courtesans is used. I (photographer) do not give the model any pose instructions, but rather follow the “appearance” of the model’s inner sensibility with my camera.
・ “Kasa” is the Japanese word for umbrella, and it is made of washi paper with a bamboo framework and an oily surface. Compared to Westerners, Japanese people like to use umbrellas, and they have become an indispensable part of Japanese traditional culture.
In general, Japanese culture is said to be a “static” culture, but this page expresses a “dynamic” Japanese culture. Also, the camera position is taken from below.
I’ve taken dozens, no more than 100 women so far, but most of them are nude. That’s why I usually start shooting, and there may be the atmosphere of the studio and my shooting, but halfway through I decided to shoot nudes, and this is the “work” I’m posting here… So, what kind of woman will be nude, if I try to figure it out from experience…
People who are confident in their body (nude) and want to keep it in shape. There are many people who are good at expressing themselves with their whole bodies, such as those who used to do ballet, who are yoga instructors, who are dancers, and who are actresses. Some of them have no such experience at all, thinking that if I leave it up to them, I will do something about it, so they just leave it to me. (By the way, whether or not I have experience in expression makes a big difference from the point of view of the shooter. If models have experience, models may know “how to be shown”, and “pre-existing concepts” will take precedence. Therefore, there may be cases where it is not suitable for shooting works that want to depict nature and inevitability.But even so, if they are a complete amateur, I can take natural shots if they relax, but simply shoot “boring everyday life”. It can also be a thing.
Even so, if models are acomplete amateur, I can take natural pictures if they relax, but I may end up taking pictures of “boring everyday life”. Each person has a different balance in that regard, and I guess it’s because of their compatibility with me. The “fun” never ends.)
Perhaps my subconscious forces me to do so, but models usually want to show their nudes, they want to expose their nudes, and I take the opportunity to take off my clothes as much as I can. Wearing clothes is like putting on an “ethics”, and people who take off their clothes liberate themselves from their ethics and find it comfortable to take them off, so they take many shots. “It’s only natural, but I’m sure there’s no leak of image data (that I can’t show), so there’s a sense of security.” It’s a little bit of a sham, but if I shoot it, it’s not a gravure but an art piece, so I don’t think it’s embarrassing if someone finds out later. Also, if I take a picture, it will be exhibited at an exhibition, and I hope that I will remain as a model and look forward to it.
nude photograph 