Photography and “History”

Various “legal documents” were brought to Japan from China during the Ming dynasty. I track them around the country, and from time to time the owners are kind enough to show these documents to me. Sometimes I am also allowed to take a photograph. Looking through the finder, I focus on the sensations in my fingertips as I adjust the focus; then, breathing out, I smoothly push down the shutter. The owner might not allow me another try. This anxiety overlaps with my regular oversensitivity and leaves me completely exhausted by the end of the session. But later, at home, I look at the photographs and see clues that, together with written sources, will allow me to speculate about the historical background of those documents. I get so happy then that I forget about the exhaustion. My father, himself a kimono maker, introduced me to the pleasures of photography while I was still a small schoolboy with affinity to history. He was probably just desperate to liven up his quiet, inert son — but I am extremely grateful to him even now. I have been getting more opportunities recently to photograph printed materials in European libraries. Taking pictures will always remain my hobby, and I will continue using it in my research.