UV inkjet print on acrylic Perhaps it is because I grew up in the quiet and temperate Seto Inland Sea of Japan, but the forest has always been a place of endless interest to me. I was in awe of the presence I could feel among the trees, and the forests never ceased to fascinate me. In February, I visited the foothills of the Yatsugatake Mountains in winter. My photographic equipment and solitude weighed heavily on me, and the piercing cold stole my body heat. As I wandered along, before I knew it, I was drawn into a world I did not know. I resist the urge to go, but my mind is in turmoil, and my consciousness fades away as if intoxicated. A large shadow slowly dances behind my eyelids. Pausing as if to laugh, the shadow made me release the shutter of my camera. It seemed like a moment or a very long time. When I opened my eyes, I was in the forest. The forest looked down at me without saying a word. The spirits that have inhabited the Japanese forests for centuries must have lured me there.
