The title of my photographic series TOKϴYO was inspired by tokoyo (常世 eternity), an imaginary world with deep roots in ancient Japanese concepts. It’s an immortal universe, where the goddess of grains, fertility and ancestors coexist. It is also a place where the sun regenerates. It also reminds us our capital Tokyo, where a large number of people live in, they had profited from the electricity which had been generated at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 
    Yet the celestial landscape of Fukushima was pure pleasure to my eyes. Having been away for 7 years, everything seemed so new and fresh. I travelled around the prefecture like a tourist and took photos as I walked. The exploration led me to small neighbouring villages, faced with an aging population and low birth rate, not to mention its declining craftsmanship. Like Man Ray’s assistant Berenice Abbott, who also relocated from Paris to her hometown in New York, I was absolutely fascinated with Fukushima’s everyday landscape.

     A year after, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. My house collapsed like a crushed tin can. Then the Fukushima 1 nuclear plant exploded. It happened only 50 km away from my home. Despite the devastation the coastal area suffered, the mountainside maintained its beauty. Sakura trees and flowing streams seemed untouched, as if nothing had happened. It was like standing in the middle of a world with no boundaries between life and death. I felt confused by the overwhelming and surreal presence of my baby.

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福島の山深い奥会津。

雪の日にはカンジキを履き、中判のフィルムカメラで撮影。作家が幼い頃に祖母から聞いた東北の民話や山岳信仰の話がその旋律を復誦し追いかけていく。2016年、パリ中心地区のギャラリー、12店舗の協力を得て写真展を開催。現地の人に温かく迎え入れられた。パリで好評を得た作品に加え、日本初公開となるリコーイメージングスクエア東京での展示では日本の匠の技、表具の刷毛さばきを取り入れた新作を加えた質感のあるバライタ大全紙・約30点で構成。