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For me, an exhibition is “alive”. I believe that what I should exhibit at any given moment in time changes depending on the location or space that I’m using. So, for this exhibition, the first thing I did was to consider how best to convey mountain images when in Marunouchi, Tokyo.

Being in a business district, I thought that people who wouldn’t normally spend much time hiking or in the mountains might also come to see the exhibition. In which case, rather than simply displaying generically pleasing images of mountain landscapes, I thought it would be interesting to present visual contradictions that make people stop and look, or show them a way of looking at nature that is new to them.

I was also interested in the parallels between the “urban viewers” visiting the exhibition and my “mountain-self”. What I mean is, the people visiting the gallery will move around and do different things, right? So, for example, after looking at one image they might walk on a bit to look at another photograph, then they might take a couple of steps backwards and look at both pictures at the same time etc. And that’s actually very similar to what I do when I’m walking in the mountains taking pictures. I’ll take a picture, then stop, and then keep walking again, and then capture another shot etc. I hope that visitors to the exhibition will also enjoy this stimulating physical sensation of different perspectives.

In regards to my mountain photography, yes. Staff at hiking magazines often ask me “why did you take this”? (Laughs) When I started photographing the red tape, everyone said “Huh? What’s this?”. (Laughs)

I think I’ve always had a tendency in that direction, and right from the get-go I think I was inclined to capture things that other mountain photographers were not interested in. Also, around the time that I started photography, there wasn’t anybody doing that sort of thing in terms of mountain photography, and because I was still young at the time, I had a sort of sense of mission like “this is something that I have to do”. (Laughs) Having said that, I think that nowadays I photograph more just what naturally interests me.

Yeah, you’re probably right. If it was decided in advance that I just need to take a photograph of the view from the summit, for example, then it would be simple, but for me, the act of photographing is intertwined with the act of walking. So, I guess that makes me busy, but as a result, I actually intentionally try to walk leisurely.

I might loosely have an idea that I want to photograph the “Northern Yatsugatake” or “Oze”, but in the past, when I set myself the task of photographing a specific flower during a specific season, I found myself getting completely absorbed in the search for that one flower, which meant I wasn’t able to experience anything else. At the time, I remember thinking to myself “this isn’t good”. So since then, I’ll have an idea somewhere in the corner of my mind, but I make sure I don’t get too caught up in it. Nature is continually transforming, so if I don’t prioritize looking at what’s in front of me in the moment, I end up overlooking so many important things.

Of course I do go to many different mountains for work, but while one way to enjoy the mountains is to keep exploring new peaks, there’s also something fascinating about getting to know one mountain in depth, and personally, I prefer the latter. I find that by revisiting the same location during the four different seasons, I become aware of which flowers bloom at specific times of the year, or when certain species of animal are active. This naturally enables me to see in a higher resolution, and I enjoy discovering such new perspectives.

Yes, that’s right. And the act of taking photographs is actually very useful for honing this skill. Taking photographs forces you to pay attention to your surroundings, and this encourages you to change your perspective, making you able to see more. In that sense, photographs and mountains have a great affinity and photography can be a tool for more in-depth observation.

In my case it’s a bit like deciding to go on a walk. I just think “maybe I should go soon”, so it’s not related to how busy I am or anything. But I often hear people say they go hiking as a way to relieve stress. In the past I didn’t really understand this, but recently I’ve started to appreciate how going to a place with a different flow of time feels good in a world that is so busy and where everything moves so fast.

Experiencing different flows of time is good for you both physically and mentally. It’s good to be busy too – getting absorbed in a rush of work. But having a place where time flows differently, be it the mountains or the ocean, is also very enriching.

On top of that, when you’re in the city, everything tends to revolve around the individual. For example, if the queue at the supermarket checkout is slow, or when you’re getting the train, we tend to think about everything in terms of individual convenience. But in nature, many things won’t go the way we want or they are beyond our control, such as a sudden downpour of rain or the waves in the sea. So, I think it’s good for humans to have more experience of being out of control and having to accommodate nature.

That’s right. When we’re in the mountains or in nature, there are more opportunities to think about things from another perspective, to see the world differently, or to interact with it in a different way. I’m very grateful to the mountains for helping me realize this. It’s so important. If I could go back in time, I would complement the old me for becoming a “yama” girl.

There are still a few things that are undecided, but the slideshow should be an opportunity for people to experience a bit of mountain air while still in the city, and enjoy watching it while listening to some music. For the hiking club, I think we’ll be going photo-trekking on a small mountain with our cameras. I’m hoping it will be an opportunity for everyone to experience and enjoy various new perspectives along the way.