©️Masaru Tatsuki
The breath of spring can be heard everywhere today, but have you heard about a photo book titled "Snow Comes from the West" that was released last month when it was still cold?
This is actor Masahiro Higashide's first photo collection and road movie photobook, but first, please open the pages without any preconceptions or bias.
The instigator of the project was Satoru Machiguchi, the art director of this photo book. Machiguchi, who has worked on photo books by leading Japanese photographers such as Daido Moriyama and Mika Ninagawa, and is active both in Japan and abroad, made an offer to Higashide based on the concept of "Don't think with your head, grasp with your body," and the project was set in motion.
The photography is by Masaru Tazuke, who has been photographing the Tohoku region for about 10 years, fascinated by its people, culture, and nature, and was awarded the "Ihei Kimura Photography Award" in 2011 for his photo book "Tohoku.
©️Masaru Tatsuki
They told Higashide only the theme of the film, without giving him any details about the number of days or the destination, and began their filming journey. There was the bare life of hunting in the snowy mountains, the place of origin of the Jomon people, mountain worship in the three mountains of Dewa, fishing in the Pacific Ocean, and so on.
This film is a collection of Higashide's own words and images of himself in the midst of the majestic nature. The film is a collection of sincere and unsparing "realism".
The following comments were received from Higashide. (Excerpts from the entire article)
If you see it in a bookstore, please pick it up without rejecting it as a photo book of young actors. Flip through it. Try to "read" rather than "see" each and every photograph taken by Mr. Masaru Tazuke.
At the exhibition commemorating the release of this book, along with selected photographs and texts from the photo book, tools actually used on the trip and a diary written by Higashide on his way on the trip will be on display. Also, during the exhibition period, a reading session "Snow Comes from the West, Reading" will be held on Friday, April 21, and a talk event "What We Are Doing" will be held on May 21.
Don't miss this competition of the brightest talents of our time.
Text_Ryo Komuta
Masahiro Higashide's photo book "Snow Comes from the West
Photo: Masaru Tazuke
Words: Masahiro Higashide
Bookbinding: Satoru Machiguchi
Format: 174 x 237mm(B5 size variant)
Number of pages: 224
138 photographs, bound side by side
Publisher: Takarajimasya
Price: 2,980 yen + tax
Snow comes from the west.
Organizers: Masahiro Higashide, Satoru Machiguchi, Masaru Tazuke
Co-organized by VACANT
Cooperation: Humanité, Match & Company, Takarajimasya
Support: Fujifilm Corporation
<Part 1
Period: April 16 (Sun) - April 23 (Sun)
Time: 12:00 - 20:00 (Friday, April 21 - 17:30))
Venue: VACANT 2F
Admission: ¥300
<Part 2
Period: April 24 (Monday) - May 21 (Sunday)
Hours: 12:00 - 20:00
Venue: VACANT/GALLERY
Admission: Free
Reading "Snow Comes from the West, Reading"
Date: Friday, April 21
Time: Doors open 19:00 / Concert begins 19:30
Venue: VACANT 2F
Admission: ¥1,500
Talk "What We Do"
Date: Sunday, May 21
Time: Doors open 18:00 / Concert begins 18:30
Venue: VACANT 2F
Admission: ¥1,500
Masahiro Higashide ( Masahiro Higashide )
Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1988, he made his acting debut in the 2012 film "Kirishima, Bukkatsu Yameratte yo". He won the Best New Actor Award at the 36th Japan Academy Awards for this film. The following year, he gained attention for his role in the NHK television series "Gochisousan. His recent works include the film "Creepy: The False Neighbors" and "Death Note: Light up the NEW world" in which he starred. He won the 40th Japan Academy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Zenji Hanyu in the film "Sei no Seishun". His upcoming films include the TV NHK Taiga fantasy series "The Guardian of the Spirit" and the film "Sekigahara" (scheduled for release on August 26, 2017).
Satoru Machiguchi ( Satoshi Machiguchi )
Graphic designer and publisher, born in Tokyo in 1971. He is the president of Match and Company. In 2005, he launched the label "M" to publish his own photo books, and since 2008, he has been participating in the world's largest photography festival "PARIS PHOTO". He has received numerous awards both in Japan and abroad, including the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award in 2009 and 2015 at the Book Design and Binding Contest, and the Tokyo TDC Award in 2014.
Masaru Tazuke ( Masaru Tazuki )
Born in Toyama Prefecture in 1974, he began working as a freelance photographer in 1995, and in 2007 published "DECOTORA" (Little More), a collection of portraits of a decotrailer and its driver taken over a nine-year period. In 2011, he published a photo book titled "Tohoku" (Little More), which won the 37th Ihei Kimura Photography Award. His photo collections "Sono Kizu wa Aka no Nai ka" (SLANT/2012), "KURAGARI" (SUPER BOOKS/2013), "'Wari,'" (SUPER BOOKS/2014), and "KURAGARI" (SUPER BOOKS/2015) were published by the Japan Foundation for the Arts in 2012. (SUPER BOOKS/2014), "Fisherman" (T&M Projects/2015), etc.
