The story of Matsuo Bashō's journey through the northern provinces of Japan in the 17th century, as recounted in his travelogue "The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” ("Oku no Hosomichi”) is a testament to the enduring mystique of the country's interior. In the summer of 1689, Bashō set out on his journey with his traveling companion Sora. They traveled on foot, carrying only minimal provisions and staying in humble lodgings along the way. Bashō was seeking inspiration for his poetry, and he found it in the natural beauty and cultural richness of the places he visited.

Despite its rich cultural and natural heritage, this region remains relatively unknown to many people, both within and outside of Japan. However, a recent photo-book by Yasuhiro Ogawa titled ‘Into the Silence’ offers a glimpse into this little-explored world, highlighting both the beauty and challenges of this remote region.

Like Bashō before him, Ogawa set out on a journey through the Tōhoku region, unlike Bashō, who traveled on foot with pen in hand, Ogawa preferred to move by train and occasional ferry with camera in hand. His photographs capture the rugged beauty of the landscape, from snow-covered mountains to misty forests but also include mondain house formations, deserted roads and glimpses of wild oceans, often shot through foggy windows on a train in motion. Through his lens, Ogawa reveals a world that is both remote and timeless, a world in stillness and motion.

Despite the passage of centuries, the challenges faced by Bashō on his journey are still evident in Ogawa's photographs. The loneliness and isolation of the road are palpable in the shots of empty trains, lone tracks or roads and desolate hotel interiors shot. So are the physical challenges of traversing rough terrain and inclement weather documented in his muted photographs.

What is striking about Ogawa's photographs is the contrast between the beauty and tranquility of the landscape and the harsh realities of life in this remote region. From plain coastal towns to empty streets, Ogawa's images reveal the toll that economic decline and depopulation have taken on the area. Yet, amidst the unostentatiousness, there remains a sense of hope and resilience. In many ways, Ogawa's photo-book is a continuation of Bashō's journey. Both men sought to explore and capture the essence of this little-known region, and both found inspiration in the beauty and challenges of the road. While times have changed, and the region has undergone significant transformation, the enduring mystique of the interior of Japan lives on. Through ‘Into the Silence’, Yasuhiro Ogawa offers a glimpse into this world, and like Bashō will inspire generations of poets and travellers, both in Japan and around the world.

The Dreaming

Tokyo Silence

a book publication by T&M projects

It is fascinating to see how Yasuhiro Ogawa was able to use sound as inspiration for his series of black-and-white street photography in "Tokyo Silence". Despite the visual nature of photography, Ogawa was able to convey the experience of sound and silence through his images. His comparison of Tokyo's streets to an aquarium, where everything is strangely silenced by the surrounding water, provides a powerful metaphor for the experience of walking through the city.

In his photographs, Ogawa captures a world that is seemingly slowed down and muted, where each movement requires deliberate attention. Through his lens, he is able to extract something that is otherwise invisible from the world around us, and convey it in a way that is both visual and visceral. By capturing noise as silence, Ogawa creates a unique perspective on the urban environment, and encourages us to see and experience the world in a different way.

Cascade

The story of Yasuhiro Ogawa's book "Cascade" is a deeply personal and intimate one. After his mother passed away, he discovered several reels of 8mm films in her apartment. As he projected them onto a wall, he was transported back in time, reliving memories of his mother and their everyday life together.

With a camera in hand, Ogawa captured images of the 8mm projections, as well as photographs of trees, old belongings, and his dying mother. The resulting book, "Cascade," invites the reader to experience Ogawa's most distant memories, and to reflect on the universal bond between a mother and her child.

In many ways, "Cascade" is a sweet, bittersweet, and melancholic book, filled with the nostalgia and longing that come with the loss of a loved one. Yet it is also a celebration of life, of memory, and of the enduring connections that we forge with those closest to us. Through his photographs, Ogawa reminds us of the power of memory, and the ways in which photographs can help us to hold onto the past, even as we move forward into the future.