ARTIST STATEMENT

DOUBLE LIFE

If I recall correctly, I found out about the New Cosmos of Photography contest around the time I met Nanako, which was after I had quit my job at a bank, bought an SLR camera, and started roaming about in search of subjects. Or perhaps it was around the time I had photographed Nanako over several sessions and was beginning to ponder how I might preserve something of these sessions in one form or another.

Nanako has the body of a man but the heart of a woman. She lived for 68 years as a man in a world that was far less understanding of her sexuality than nowadays. She married and raised her children splendidly while toiling away at a railroad company. After work, she would change into a woman's outfit and serve at a tiny restaurant, where she could be her true gender.

Nanako was exceptionally open to me, who pointed my camera at her with undisguised curiosity. “My family and parents don't know I'm a woman, but go ahead. Send your photos into the contest. To be truthful, I rather hope they find out who I really am.”

By coincidence, Nobuyoshi Araki, the judge who selected my work, was the same age as Nanako. I remember well what Mr. Araki said to me. “With an old guy like this, you'd want to sit down and have a beer with him. Because when you capture a life this rich, you're compelled to pursue it even more.”

I took his advice to embellish, as much as I could, those photos that portrayed the subject in good faith. So I displayed these two photos, enlarged, side by side, with Nanako dressed as a man in one and dressed as a woman in the other.

Entries form: Book format, A4 Pictran, 15 prints (excluding cover)