Japanese Photographs by Kobayashi Qing Ji

Kobayashi Qing Ji was born in Nagano Prefecture on 1968. After graduating from the photography department of tokyo institute of technology Short-term Department, I joined a newspaper and became a photographer. He left his job at 199 1 and set out for six Asian countries. Japanese in Asia, published by 1995, vividly captures the appearance of Japanese young people who met during the above trip with vivid black-and-white portraits and extremely extended language.

The first published work has aroused strong repercussions in the new generation. Later, as a photographer and writer, Kobayashi actively devoted himself to new works, which attracted attention from all walks of life. The photo album "Riya" won the Newcomer Award of Japan Photography Association from 65438 to 0997. There are also Japanese in Asia 2, Asian Travel Story Asian Generation, Asian Road, Tokyo Installation, Home, Asian Youth, Tokyo Generation, Dog in Hanoi, Elephant in Bangkok, Fire in Ganges, Japanese in Asia 3, Darkroom and so on.

Kobayashi Qing Ji went from his hometown Nagano to the metropolis Tokyo, from Japan to Asian countries, and then returned to Japan. It took him a year to travel from Okinawa in the south to Hokkaido in the far north. Young people met on the road, each holding his own goal, some have gone out for a walk, and some are preparing to start. Looking back after the trip, we can feel the differences and changes between ourselves and others, present and memories, places and cities, hometown and others, home country and foreign land.

For Kobayashi, to go to his own country, a place he should be familiar with, the angle of entry is not "sightseeing", but "watching". This distance between familiarity and strangeness is intriguing. Therefore, it is better to move than to travel. But from a foreign traveler's point of view-even if it is just for sightseeing-the fragments presented in this book are not uncommon outside the window of the journey or itinerary: in a sense, these are the real people and things we will see during the journey. What's more, based on the special relationship between Taiwan Province Province and Japan, I believe all the scenes in the book are familiar and unfamiliar to readers in Taiwan Province Province. Looking at the scenery that feels deja vu, people obviously "feel" (rather than know) that it is Japan. Moreover, people you meet on the road are concerned about life, and now Taiwan Province Province has another flavor.