How did you go about working as a photographer?
According
to my knowledge at the time, it was to the extent of knowing that magazines
were the place to take photographs. I didn’t even imagine the possibility of
exhibitions or photobooks. So, when I finished processing the photos I had
taken, I went to try to publish them to the press. There were kind editors who
offered helpful advice, such as if you want to publish photos you better present
them in this format which is easier for editors to review, and so on. Little by
little my photos began to get published to the magazines, and I’d use those
earnings to go out and shoot more stories, and continued my activities in this
way.
So, you appealed your work to international media yourself?
At
the time, I didn’t even understand the Japanese industry, so I felt that having
my work published in foreign magazines was not even in my idea. But, as I
continued to work in Japan, I began to see that working overseas wasn’t an unattainable
thing, and at the same time, I also began to develop an interest in the works
of photographers in other countries. There’s this
agency in Paris, VU’, which represents very distinctive photographers, both in
documentary and art, and some of them are my favorite. If I were to sign with
an agency like that even I could have my works published overseas, and so I
began to send my works to overseas agencies. Also, I had an opportunity to
participate in The Eddie Adams Workshop. Eddie Adams is one of the important photojournalists
in America, and once a year they host a workshop continuing
his legacy for upcoming young photographers at his family home on a farm
outside of New York. I heard this from a friend of mine in NY, and when I
applied, I was one of the 100 applicants who were selected to participate. There,
in addition to the professional photographers who are active on the front lines
of the industry, there were volunteer lecturers who were curators for art
museums, and magazine editors for renown publications such as Time, the New
York Times and Vanity Fair, and they would review the portfolios of
participants during their stay. It was then that Jay Colton of Time saw my
photos, and although my work couldn’t be on the pages of the print magazine,
they made an offer since they had started publishing photo essays online. And,
at the same time, I was able to sign with VU’ agency in Paris, and it helped me
to show my work outside of Japan.