This story is about my tracking of horse life to make sure what it's going on from the birth to the end coming from a piece of my memories to try to link the other reality that "we eat horse" When I was 16 years old, I visited a race track in Hokkaido for the first time. It was not for betting, but just for looking on heavy-species horse, especially the monster thoroughbred's shape that is about 1000kg each. At the stable, the monster just after racing was coming into one after another. Their muscles were still in full play and I could see their whole bodies were in white steam in the dark-chilly air.
Even now that scene is engraved my mind's eye.
Just a decade later, I had a opportunity to eat low meat (Sashimi) of horse in Fukuoka, Kyushu island located southern Japan and famous for eating horse meat as well.
Then I felt something strange that how they can have it...
After all that small but sour memory had not disappear from my brain.
From 2011, I practically wanted pursue the cycle of race horse even though it's only a side of life. Since then I've contacted to get allowance to photograph to some farms and slaughterhouses. I don't think there is nothing special to have contacts. However in japan we don't like show "the ugly and serious side" that horse is been killed. I called to have permit to whole slaughterhouses, but I couldn't get it after all. After all only an old butcher running small slaughterhouse let me do.
Now I get decided to tackle this issue unless my motivation run out.
Awards Awards/Grants
2011 TDPW(Tokyo Documentary photo workshop) Scholarship, Tokyo, Japan
2011 “Japan society for art of photography prize”, Ueno Hikoma Award, Fukuoka,Japan
2011 Eddie Adams Workshop, New York, USA
2012 “FOTO VISURA select award” Kuala Lumpur International Photo Award, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2012 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2012 “Kyushu Sangyo university prize”, Ueno Hikoma Award, Fukuoka, Japan
2013 “2nd prize, Vattenfall photo award” Berlin, Germany
Exhibitions
2011 “Sequence of Drug”, Invisible photographers Asia, Singapore
2011 Solitary project", Bursa photo festival, Bursa, Turkey
2011 "Solitary", Angkor photo festival, Siem reap, Cambodia
2011 “Ueno Hikoma Awards Exhibition”, Museum of Kyushu Sangyo university, Fukuoka, Japan
2012 Solo Exhibition “Yamadachi”, Konica Minolta Photo Gallery, Tokyo
2012 "Man and dog", Bursa photo festival, Bursa, Turkey
2012 "MATAGI", Angkor photo festival, Siem reap, Cambodia
2013 Solo Exhibition “KODAMA” Reminders-Photography-Stronghold, Tokyo, Japan
2013 Group Exhibition “His Traces” C/O Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2013 Group Exhibition “Tracks” Format International Photo Festival, Derby, UK
Book
2012 First photo book “KODAMA” by Mado-sha, Tokyo
