“I Want to See It: The Modern Hokusai Photographing Paris, Rome, and Hawaii”
Rachmaninoff’s music plays in the mind upon waking—recalling the days of traveling to Hawaii 47 times, and to Rome and Paris without ever taking photographs. Today, the desire to capture images has finally awakened. Japan’s unmatched beauty, epitomized by Kyoto, stands above all. And one vision arises: “What if a modern Hokusai photographed Paris, Rome, and Hawaii?”
2016-01-06
These days, when I wake up, the music that plays through my mind is the following piece by Rachmaninoff.
I first came to know this piece through a CD by Sarah Brightman.
During the time I purchased her CDs, for some reason, I listened to her frequently.
It was around the period when the days of going to Hawaii on every vacation were drawing to an end.
Since then, I have not gone to Hawaii.
The close friend who always went with me now says, “I don’t particularly feel like going abroad anymore.”
That sentiment seems to match exactly the message Kyoto City is using in its subway advertisements.
“Thank goodness Kyoto exists in Japan.”
If pushed to the extreme, the Japanese need not go anywhere at all.
Japan is a magnificent country—intellectually, as the highest form of liberal democracy, as the pinnacle of peace, as the summit of safety and cleanliness.
In its beauty, its order, the safety and punctuality of its transportation, the excellence and safety of its cuisine—in every respect, Japan is number one in the world and has no rival.
And as the symbol of all of this, Kyoto contains everything.
Upon reflection, I am convinced this is the true sentiment of my close friend.
As for myself, when I traveled to Rome and Paris—and indeed, I went to Hawaii 47 times—I actually disliked photography at the time.
I was a person who took no pictures at all.
It would not be an exaggeration to say I never once took a camera with me.
Now, however, the desire to take photographs is the one thing that remains within me.
Readers endowed with keen insight will surely think:
“I would love to see the modern Hokusai photograph Paris, Rome, and Hawaii.” (smile)