Blessed man

• Photographer
  Yosuke Kashiwakura, Japan
• Studio
  freelance
• Socials
• Website
  https://www.yosukekashiwakura.com

One of the three most bizarre festivals in Japan, the Saidaiji Eyo
Festival is a Buddhist event in which 9000 near-naked men
scramble to find and keep just two holy sticks, to determine the
blessed man of the year. The blessed man refers to the person
who has received good fortune from the gods, having been
bestowed a holy stick through his devout piety. Naturally, the
blessed man attracts considerable attention, and is often
lionized to the point that his daily life is completely changed. It
is here that the quality and character of the blessed man is
tested. The blessed man's duty is to return the blessings he has
received from the gods to the people, without mentally breaking
down due to the excessive good fortune in his person. At the
foundations of the over 500 year-old "Eyo" is "The Way," which
is a set of principles that are above the doctrines and trends of
single eras, and has been carefully handed down through the
generations.

• Awards
  Works illustrate the relationship between human society and animals, such as his photograph of a crow's nest constructed from wire hangers in Tokyo, which was exhibited among other environmentally themed works at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21). Other works include a series documenting the rehabilitation of orangutans living in an area where civilization and the wild are at odds. He recently accompanied the adventurer Yasunaga Ogita and a group of young people on their 600 km Arctic expedition, documenting the trip on film. Photos from this trip were later published by media outlets including National Geographic and NHK. His work covers a broad range of topics, including natural landscapes, confrontations between humans and the environment, and environmental conservation. They have been exhibited at locations such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and the C40 Mayors Summit; and have appeared in domestic and international publications including Deutsches Museum, the Natural History Museum in London, and LensCulture magazine. Notable awards include: Monochrome Photography Awards - Landscape Photographer of the Year Paris Photography Prize, PX3 - 1st place winner in both Nature/Wildlife and Nature/Earth categories LensCulture Earth Awards - Single Image Category, 2nd place National Geographic Photo Contest - Nature Category.