The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m. on the 11th of March 2011, triggering terrible tsunami waves and a nuclear disaster. It also had a serious impact on local Japanese traditions and regional culture that have been developed and preserved over many decades and centuries. One of these traditions is Zaido, a ritual that has been preserved for over 1300 years.

In Zaido ritual, those who dedicate this sacred dance to the gods are called Noshu. They must purify themselves religiously by abstaining from meat, a practice called Shojinkessai. In addition to avoiding meat, many kinds strict rules are imposed on them. For example, Noshu are forbidden to sleep with their wives during Shojinkessai. Noshu must avoid birth in their homes. Some Noshu have to continue Shojinkessai for 48 days.

Zaido has faced many challenges to its survival throughout history, such as fires, theft of artifacts, and a lack of successors due to low birth rate. In modern society, practicing Shojinkessai is very difficult.

I would like to express my sincere respect for those who keep this valuable tradition alive, and for their passion and love for this great ritual art.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, I have continued to reflect on my Japanese identity. I believe that this disaster was the impetus for my becoming a photographer.

As an island nation surrounded by the sea on all sides, Japan has developed a unique tradition and way of life. Yet when the terrible earthquake happened, I felt the horror of so much precious culture and so many irreplaceable lives disappearing in an instant.

I wanted to express the passage of time and a variety of facial expressions in one photo. It has been said that Japanese people have two faces; for instance, they may be smiling, yet angry in their minds. Here, I have tried to capture an abstract image of the beautiful and subtle grace of kabuki, using camera techniques to express a painting-like image.

My camera work is also inspired by Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and Nihon-ga paintings. In this way, my camera is like a brush with which to draw a picture. Kabuki, the traditional form of Japanese theatre that dates to the Edo period, uses highly expressive faces to depict historical events and moral conflict in relationships. I coined a new word to describe this camera technique: KABSTRUCT, a portmanteau of kabuki, abstract, and structure.

Kabstruct is my expression of the passion, beauty, sadness, and joy of the Japanese heart.

Tokyo - the city of my birth.

In truth, I suppose I have avoided photographing Tokyo.

I can take pictures of Tokyo anytime, I thought,

And I felt a certain embarrassment at the idea of capturing something so personal.

But after the Great East Japan Earthquake, I felt compelled to give Japan another look.

I wanted to see Tokyo as if I were setting foot in a mysterious country for the first time.

This is Chaos Tokyo, like a toy box turned upside-down.

?The capricious emotions of the people,

?The neon city glittering in the night,

?The trembling respiration of so many lives.

Tokyo, a city mundane yet preposterously fascinating,

Plays her bewitching Rhapsody day after day,

And I will be there to listen.

Landscape from the sky is a unknown world for me.

Ice landscape from the sky particularly fascinated me.

When I saw the scene, “Art of Nature” I was reminded of these words as follows;

“BIRTH, PROPAGATION, STABILISATION, CHAOS, FRAGMENTATION, GENESIS, METEMPSYCHOSIS.”

I wanted to leave these messages from nature. These are the metaphors of the human world.

When I saw this landscape, it reminded me of the “Ice Age”.

Some scientists said there is a “mini ice age on the way, the sun has 'gone to sleep' and it could cause temperatures to plunge.”

I don’t know if this theory is true or not, but I do think our lives are threatened by pending natural disaster, but at the same time are protected by nature.

I will never forget the feeling of awe and appreciation for nature.

I would like to show the beautiful "Art Of Nature".

And, I would like to hope that people consider various environmental issues earth is facing, not only the beauty.

This series of works is inspired by Francis Bacon.

The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred at 2:46 p.m. on the 11th of March 2011, triggering terrible tsunami waves and a nuclear disaster. It also had a serious impact on local Japanese traditions and regional culture that have been developed and preserved over many decades and centuries. One of these traditions is Kagura, a very old ritual.

Kagura is a series of masked dances accompanied by drum, cymbal, and flute, originally danced by holy officers of Shinto shrines to demonstrate the power of mountain deities and bless the people. Today, these dances commemorate historical events and celebrate deities worshipped throughout the country.

I would like to express my sincere respect for those who keep this valuable tradition alive, and for their passion and love for this great ritual art.

Rajasthan is the largest state of India, located in the northwest part of the country. In this region is the Thar Desert, populated by a great number of people known as the Roma, or Romani. It is said that these nomadic Romani people (also called gypsies) originated in this region of what is now India, came to the Near East, and then arrived in Europe and North Africa at least a thousand years ago, though even to this day there are Romani people in Rajasthan who travel around the country performing as bards the music of the desert.

By around the 11th century, these people were moving further and further west, leaving the Middle East, Turkey, and Egypt behind, pushing into the Balkans, and reaching Europe and North Africa, over the course of centuries of hardship.

While these wandering people had rich language, they did not write it down, and so the memories of their travels and history of their people was passed along through the ages in song and dance.

They continue to move, and to live, without putting down roots in specific places. And when their houses wither as great old branches or cast-off husks, their homes stay within them as they move on. Utterly different from my current life in Tokyo, this world of the desert captured my heart, to stay with me forever.

BADANA is a Sanskrit word that corresponds to "face" in English.

In India, many different ethnic groups share the land, coexisting with a variety of traditions, lifestyles, costumes, and accessories. Some isolated cultures in mountainous areas use poison darts. Some peoples tattoo women’s faces after marriage to discourage abductors.

Dressed in brightly-colored beads of orange and yellow, the naked Bonda people draw the eye with large hoops around their necks and stacked loads on their heads.

To this day, a great number of tribes and cultures continue to preserve their ways of life.

However, carrying on these ancient traditions in the middle of modern society is a monumentally difficult task. With suffering, joy, and sadness etched into their faces, these people struggle to overcome untold hardships as they keep their culture alive.

I have captured the vibrant BADANA of these people of India.