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This article is a joint project with the radio program "Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE" on J-WAVE (81.3 FM). AKO and HOUYHNHNM's editor-in-chief Ryo Komuta will be the program navigators, and will delve into the roots and staples of the guests on the theme of "standards" for about an hour on the last Sunday of each month at 10:00 p.m. In addition, using "radiko," a service that allows you to listen to the radio on your computer or smartphone, you can listen to the show in real time or at your own leisure with the time-free function. We hope you will enjoy this new approach to radio and HOUYHNHNM's together!

• Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE
• Last Sunday of every month 22:00-22:54
• Navigator: AKO, Ryo Komuta (Editor-in-Chief, HOUYHNHNM)
• J-WAVE 81.3FM "Jeep® CREATIVE GARAGE
• www.j-wave.co.jp/original/creativegarage/

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It all started with a compact camera my grandfather bought me.

Shingo Wakagi has been active as a photographer, mainly for various magazines and advertisements, and also releases photo collections energetically. While he has built a long career, he has never been complacent about it, but rather sincerely pursues what he wants to do with a boyish mind full of curiosity. Anyone can take a picture, but only Mr. Wakagi can capture a moment that only he can. How is it that such photographs are born? We will visit Mashiko Town in Haga County, Tochigi Prefecture, a place closely associated with Mr. Wakagi, and unravel the relationship between him and photography.

My first experience with a camera was when I was in elementary school. I saw a TV commercial for a compact film camera when it first came out, and my grandfather bought it for me while talking about how interesting it looked, and I played around with it for the first time.

Compact cameras became popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Until then, cameras required the photographer to adjust the shutter speed, aperture, and other settings to suit the situation, but with the birth of the compact camera, all settings became automatic. That is why even elementary school students were able to operate cameras with ease.

I think it was interesting to see the view I was looking at through the viewfinder materialize in print. Nowadays, digital is the mainstream, so you can check the prints right away, but that was not the case in the past. It took time for the prints to come out, and since they were in elementary school, there were a lot of exciting things to do during that time, right? So they would have forgotten that they pressed the shutter, but I somehow remembered. That was interesting, and I started taking all kinds of pictures.

While carrying his school bag, he had a camera in his luggage in addition to his textbooks and stationery. After school, he would take it out and take pictures of his classmates or point the lens at the scenery on his way home from school.

I didn't take pictures during class, as I should have, but after school, when the teacher wasn't around. I didn't go home right away, but took pictures of my friends and took pictures of various landscapes while hanging out and taking side trips. I was in elementary school, so even going outside my own school district was an adventure. But, you know, I really enjoyed that kind of activity, and I liked it."

He found his raison d'etre in photography.

This is how Mr. Wakagi enjoyed the pleasure of taking photographs. Of course, this did not change when he entered junior high school, and it was around that time that he began to aspire to become a photographer as a career.

I won a prize in a magazine contest for a photograph I took of a friend, and I received the prize money. That was the moment when the idea of being a photographer became very concrete in my mind. I was not a good sportsman, nor was I a good artist. However, there was no one else doing photography. So my position was clear. Perhaps I felt a kind of significance to my existence.

At that time, Mr. Wakagi was influenced by magazines. He went to bookstores and read magazines from one side to the other.

I liked ZOOm and PHOTO JAPON. They had a Western magazine-like atmosphere and carried many articles on foreign photography, and I used to look at them thinking, "How cool! It was the 1980s, and Japan was also influenced by foreign advertising photography. I became interested in fashion photography and naturally gravitated toward the United States. Photographers such as Bruce Weber and Maple Saul reflected the vitality of America at that time, and I admired them.

Such yearning for America dominated Mr. Wakagi's mind during his high school years. The mood of the times at that time was also toward the U.S., Wakagi says. The option of studying abroad gradually began to emerge around that time. Rochester Institute of Technology in New York State. It is one of the top universities in the U.S. in the field of art, and has produced many photographers and artists. Mr. Wakagi graduated from the photography department of this university.

I learned more about what photography is than about the technical aspects of it. I learned something like a proposition there. We would explain our own photos and discuss what we thought of other people's photos. We would discuss in class what we thought about the photos we took and what we thought about the photos other people took. So I remember being shown all kinds of photos and having a lot of input. I still liked Bruce Weber, and I thought Richard Avedon and Nick Knight were good. I was also influenced by Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, and other photographers who reflected the streets of the 60s and 70s.

Encouraged by this culture, Wakagi's photographic style also changed.

I had to be influenced," he said. In those days, it was not only photography, but also movies and music. I watched and listened to everything that caught my attention. I was exposed to a lot of art. Not only in the past, but even now there are many things that I think are good. But I don't think I will change my style now.

The strength of the link with the subject. I like photographs that show this.

Why does Mr. Wakagi not want to change his style? He says it is important to be influenced by others, but even more important is to take photographs that only he can take. This is what Mr. Wakagi has cultivated over his long career.

I can't do the same thing as other people anymore. What I did by myself is more valuable, that's what I came to think. I think it's important to take my own picture, to prove that I'm here."

What kind of photos does Mr. Wakagi think are good? What kind of photographs do you think are good? When we asked him such a question, he answered the question carefully, choosing his words carefully, while showing his concern, "Well, I don't know...it's a difficult question..." He was very careful in his answer.

The strength of the link with the subject. I like photographs that show this. That means that the photographer has a reason for taking the picture. It doesn't matter what the technique is; I think it is important to be able to clearly see that the photo was created because of the person who took it.

With the preface, "Also, this may be a little different from the angle of the story," Mr. Wakagi also shared the following story.

Photographs become more interesting when they are seen by people. They appear in magazines, appear on the Internet, and spread through the media. There is no particular message, but a single photo reaches people who don't know it and evokes a variety of emotions. That is what makes it interesting. I think that's why I make photography my job.

There is no message that I want to convey through my photographs. However, they can trigger the viewer to think about something. The power of photography as an intermediary is what Mr. Wakagi calls "interesting.

I am not sure how I feel about it, but the photo walks by itself and shakes someone's heart. It's a strange thing, isn't it? Whether it is manga, art, or fashion, they all have the power to evoke some kind of emotion. I think that is creativity. I would be happy if someone sees my photographs and feels happy or if they overlap with a story in their mind.

A beauty that has been warmed over the years by the skill of a person with no name.

This time, Mr. Wakagi visited Mashiko Town, located in the southeastern part of Tochigi Prefecture, in his Jeep® Grand Cherokee. Mashiko is a pottery town known for its "Mashiko-yaki" pottery.

I first visited Mashiko about 10 years ago. I was taken there by photographer Kyoji Takahashi, who is a regular visitor to Mashiko, and I found it to be a very interesting town. Like the "Mashiko Reference Center," "pejite," and "starnet" that I visited today, there are stylish buildings and stores in a tranquil landscape, and it is a scenery that you cannot find in any other town. Since then, I kind of feel like visiting once a year."

What he felt when he visited Mashiko Town. Using this feeling as a guide, in 2010 Mr. Wakagi opened his own bookstore, BOOK AND PRINTS, in his hometown of Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.

I was in Hamamatsu at the time, but there were no bookstores, cafes, or other comfortable places. There was a gallery in Yamanashi that had a nice atmosphere similar to that of Mashiko, but in a different location. I thought, "I can do the same thing! I opened a bookstore in Hamamatsu because I thought, 'Maybe I can do it, too.

Despite its tranquil atmosphere, Mashiko has a unique pace that is firmly rooted in the town. Wakagi says he is attracted to Mashiko not only because of its tasteful stores, but also because of the town's climate and the way of life of the people who live there.

Mashiko is known for its Mashiko pottery, and it is a town of folk crafts. Mingei" is a type of folk art that was popularized by Muneyoshi Yanagi and Shoji Hamada, and I like the mood of the whole town, which seems to be moving in one direction. Mingei has a beauty that has been preserved over many years by the skills of nameless people, rather than by the works of well-known artists, and I am attracted to that. When I touch a piece of pottery made by someone else, my heart is softly warmed. I felt a similarity between this phenomenon and the act of continuing to take photographs.

The Grand Cherokee is a one of a kind car.

Mr. Wakagi said of Mashiko, "It is within driving distance from Tokyo. That's also good. Mr. Wakagi says that he usually travels by car for work and family errands. What does he think about while driving?

I think about all kinds of things. For me, ideas are more likely to come to me while I am working on something else, rather than just sitting in a chair thinking in a daze. Good ideas often come to me when I am driving and looking at the scenery as I drive. I spend most of my time with work and family, so the only time I can be alone and think slowly is when I am driving. That is a special time for me.

Mr. Wakagi used to be a Jeep® owner. At the time, he was driving a Wrangler.

I was riding about eight years ago. When I was in New York, I saw many people driving SUVs. I was in New York when a lot of people were driving SUVs, because where I lived, there was about 20 meters of snow in the winter, so SUVs were essential for daily life. With those memories in mind, I was thinking that I wanted an SUV, and then I found the Wrangler. Jeeps are powerful to drive, and the chassis is sturdy. There was nothing to be afraid of, and I felt a sense of stability.

What were your impressions of the "Grand Cherokee" that you drove this time?

I think Jeep has become more universal these days. I think it has become a very urban specification. However, it has inherited the powerful driving performance that it originally had, and the specifications have not declined. I have the same impression of this "Grand Cherokee. I was surprised at how smooth the steering wheel is and how easy it is to drive. This car itself has a massive image, but it has a lightness that does not give that impression. The driver's eye level is high, so the field of vision is wide. I was also attracted by the comfort of the interior space. It gives the impression of being a very large car, but in fact it is an easy-to-use size. However, it is not as if the interior is small. I think I will be able to enjoy driving with plenty of room to spare.

Mr. Wakagi goes on to mention design.

The Grand Cherokee is not just a passenger car, even though it has more of a city driving feel. I feel that the Grand Cherokee has the aura of a car of a higher rank.

If it made someone happy, that's all that matters.

Over the course of his long career, Mr. Wakagi has sincerely and at his own pace achieved what he wanted to do. In addition to his work as a photographer and the management of the bookstore mentioned earlier, he has also launched a magazine, shot films, and continues to inspire those around him with his wide-ranging field work. We asked Mr. Wakagi about the standard for him.

If I think I can do it, I will do it. I guess this is my standard (laughs). By trying things out instead of just doing them in my head, more things happen than I had imagined. Of course, I don't always succeed, but I have never regretted it. This is because I don't pursue profit, or rather, I don't set numerical goals. Even if I incur a financial loss as a result of my actions, if someone is happy, I'm fine with it. Everything I do is just for fun (laughs).

He is not afraid of failure and challenges what he wants to do. Mr. Wakagi told us at the end what lies behind this feeling.

I have challenged myself in many different ways, but that is because I am a photographer at the core of what I do. It is only because I have a solid foundation as a photographer that I am able to take on other challenges. Photography is indispensable to me.