故郷である東京の江戸川区と江東区は、東京大空襲で多くの人が亡くなった場所である。
被災地を中心に、仕事終わりの深夜東京の住宅街を6年間にわたって歩き回り、都市とそこに住む人々、
第二次世界大戦で日本人が関わった様々な場所の映像と資料を用いて、都市の記憶と変化を表現した。
東京の東側に位置し、周囲を河川に囲まれたこの地区は、1945年3月に10万人の死者を出した東京大空襲で甚大な被害を受けた。戦後、高度経済成長期を迎え1950年代から多くの工場が稼働し、花町地区は数百人の芸者の存在で栄えたが、1990年代には日本経済はバブル崩壊を経験し、公害問題で多くの工場が地方に移転。
現在は、再開発により古い建物が取り壊されている。
第二次世界大戦で日本人が関わった各国を訪れ入手、撮影した資料や写真は、戦争が及ぼす影響の大きさを表しているが、東京大空襲の被災地の現在を映した写真では、戦後の復興を過ごした街並みが人知れず朽ちていく姿と、そこに住む人々の姿とが対比されることで、時代の変化により人々から過去の記憶が消失していく姿を連想させる。
2020年代以降の日本では、第二次世界大戦後生まれの世代が人口の8割以上を占めている。
この街で10万人以上が犠牲になった記憶も、いつか失われていくのだろうか。
本作は2023年の清里ヤングポートフォリオにて清里写真美術館に収蔵され、
「作家独特の視点を持っている」
(2023 “清里ヤングポートフォリオ”審査員コメントより)
との通り、綿密な調査や取材を背景としながらも、独自の視点で成立させた作品として評価された。
My hometowns, Edogawa and Koto wards in Tokyo, were severely damaged in the Tokyo Air Raid.
The city and its inhabitants, mainly in the affected areas, and the people who live in it, through six years of walking around Tokyo’s residential areas late at night after work,
Using images and documents of various places Japanese people were involved in during World War II, the artist expressed the city’s memories and changes.
Located on the east side of Tokyo and surrounded by rivers, the district was severely damaged in the Tokyo Air Raid of March 1945 that left 100,000 people dead. After the war, the area experienced a period of rapid economic growth and many factories began operating in the 1950s, and the Hanamachi district flourished with the presence of hundreds of geisha. In the 1990s, the Japanese economy experienced a bubble burst, and many factories relocated to the countryside due to pollution problems.
Currently, old buildings are being torn down due to redevelopment.
The materials and photographs that were obtained and taken by visiting countries where Japanese people were involved in World War II show the great impact of the war, but the photographs showing the present in the areas affected by the Tokyo air raids contrast the sight of the townscape where people spent the postwar reconstruction period decaying without being seen with the people who live there, and show that the changing times have caused the The contrast between the decay of the townscape and the people who live there reminds us of the disappearance of memories of the past due to changes in the times.
In Japan in the 2020s and beyond, the generation born after World War II accounts for more than 80% of the population.
Will the memory of more than 100,000 victims in this city be lost one day?
This work will be included in the Kiyosato Museum of Photography’s collection at the Kiyosato Young Portfolio in 2023,
“It has the artist’s unique point of view.”
(From the jury’s comments on the 2023 “Kiyosato Young Portfolio”)
As stated in the comment by the judges of the “Kiyosato Young Portfolio” (2023), this work was highly evaluated as a work that was established from a unique perspective, while being backed by meticulous research and interviews.