Ever since I was child, I’ve had the sensation of clicking a shutter in my mind multiple times a day. When I stop and stare at things I would normally overlook, I also get a sense the expansive and wonderful vitality within these things. For example, my heart will pound at the sight of tiny flowers whose name I don’t know blooming on a roadside or at the contrast of light and shade streaming through a crack in a nondescript window. I created my works from these personal moments.

The title “Tiny Tenderness” refers to the perspective of looking at things with care and empathy and to the wondrous vitality one can see in this way. Tiny tenderness is found everywhere in the environment around us, be it fruit on display at a supermarket or a calm, human-like expression on a small dog that passes you by on the street.

The moments I unthinkingly point my camera at are moments when these tiny things shine radiantly in the sun’s light. My photos are a continuation of the act of gazing at things with care and tenderness.

As I take photos, I’ve noticed my feelings at that time are etched in the photos. My photos include not only subjects like women or plants that emanate a powerful life force but also still objects like faucets, hoses, and a row of chairs. Maybe they are somehow an overlay of the cowardly me and a quiet, calm motif. A part of me feels jealous of people for being alive. At the same time, despite becoming mentally fatigued when I’m with a group of people, I feel lonely when I’m by myself. Partly out of a reaction to this, I want to leave behind cheerful photos.

In an age when anyone can easy take pictures, I sometimes wonder what my purpose is in taking pictures, what am I aiming to achieve? One answer is I see my role as being like an hourglass. That’s because an hourglass visually expresses the inexorable nature of time. Each grain of sand is like a moment of time, and the smooth continuous flow of sand signifies the unstoppable passage of time. For me today, taking photos means the act of tenderly and tangibly preserving each of these grains / moments.

I believe buried as memories in everyone’s body are the discovery and delight of first encounters that we felt in childhood. Around us every day are all kinds of motifs that call these discoveries and delight to mind. That’s why I intend to continue taking joyful photos that will be looked at for a long time.