#Stories for Nagato

Why not take a picture of Nagato?

　We want to increase the number of people taking photos in Nagato. With this in mind, the photo event “YUKUTE PHOTO” was born in 2018, and in December 2019, we started posting photos taken under the theme “#Story in Nagato” on social networking sites to share them with the wider world. Both of these activities are designed to introduce wonderful locations and make people want to “go to Nagato to take pictures”.

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location：Sawayaka Beach (Senzaki area)
date：Mid-November

EPISODE: The sea in Nagato was very calm on this day. It was so calm that I wished I could just sit on the beach and spend time without thinking about anything. But when I looked through the viewfinder, the shape of the waves and her figure seemed to suggest the beginning of something, so I quietly clicked the shutter. Both the sound of the shutter and the sound of the waves seemed to blend into the scene, making me feel comfortable. ⠀

location：Godan Falls (Tawarayama area)
date：Late Nov.

EPISODE: This location is one of the places I was guided to by a local development cooperation team member who was working in the Tawarayama district of Nagato City during the rice harvesting season this year. I had been looking forward to the day of the photo shoot, hoping to take pictures during the fall foliage season, but unfortunately the weather was unfavorable that day. Still, the fact that it was the first time the girls had been to this place fit the atmosphere of the day so well that they enjoyed the space without having to move from one location to another. The sound of leaves, the murmur of the river, the singing of birds, every sound that reached my ears, I want to hear again. ⠀

location：Tadanohama Beach
date：Late Nov.

EPISODE: A miracle on this day when there was not a single sunny mark. The girls, moving in the blue, probably shone in everyone’s eyes. The conditions that we were lucky enough to have were enhanced when they were combined with their uninterrupted conversation. I regret that I can’t bring you the moment I couldn’t capture because I couldn’t turn away. It was that dazzling.

location：Aburaya Gobata / near Aburaya Sports Park / Aburaya Island
date：Mid-December

EPISODE: In every shoot, the story changes with the mood of the model. But in her case, there was one part of the story that never changed consistently, even when we changed the location of the shoot. Perhaps the next time she appears again, you will see a story that moves back and forth between past, present, and future. A little color to someone somewhere’s words that no matter where you are, you can take a picture. ⠀

location：Qinghai Island (on Prefectural Road 283)/Qinghai Bridge
date：Late Dec.

EPISODE: This was my first early morning shoot. It was a very luxurious time to watch the sun rise gradually over her. The temperature was not that low, the light was sharp, the wind was light, and even though it was a winter morning, I could feel the warmth. I think the reason for this was her bursting smile. Since we were shooting with fishermen around, you may have wondered what on earth these girls were doing. I wonder. ⠀

location：Namon Yumoto Onsen IC, near Fukagawa River
date：Late Nov.

EPISODE: The girls were following me as the sun shone in the west. It was as if we were somehow straddling time and space, looking through a transparent wall at the girls as they usually are. Nagato is full of not only tourist attractions but also fascinating spaces. We are looking forward to photographing these places in the spring of 2020. If you are interested in being a model, please take a look at our Instagram highlights. Let’s enjoy the spring in Nagato together. ⠀

location：Near Shiraigata Tunnel
date：Mid-November

Episode: The first breakwater I saw when I visited Nagato was this one. It was love at first sight. I wanted to shoot here for sure, so I was happy to be able to make it happen. There are many other forms of breakwaters in Nagato, and I think several more will appear in the future. Also, there is no “I” in any of the stories that I photograph, but I think I may have been the only one in the eighth one in this story. It was such a poignant moment. If I could have had a conversation with the breakwater, that moment might have been the moment I could have become a word. ⠀

location：Aburaya Bay / near Aburaya Island
date：Mid-December

EPISODE: Everyone who takes photographs has probably experienced this. That moment when you are in a hurry to take a picture. I was squinting through the viewfinder because I was too far away from her in the first half of the shoot, so it was difficult to see her movements. I was worried about what to do with the space where she would be soooo quiet. Looking back, I think that was my impatience to take the picture. At that time, I didn’t even feel like I was speeding up the second hand, I was just pulled along by her. How would others imagine such a space⠀?

location：Ohihihi Breakwater, Qinghai Island
date：Late Dec.

EPISODE: I try not to talk about things that directly touch on the story too much as an episode, but I think you could feel the “connection” part of this story very clearly. It is a story with no text, just a title and a picture. You can take it any way you like. Please take a moment to go back and forth through the story as if you were turning the pages of a picture book. You may or may not feel “maybe” if you do. Freedom. ⠀

location：Kangetsu River Park
date：Early April

EPISODE: From what perspective did you see any spring? There must have been springs when there was nothing that was supposed to be there, and there must have been springs when there was something that was not supposed to be there. Toki is moving forward in a cruel way. There is no way to know our convenience. Try to get away from the sounds around you for a moment. I believe that there are times in our daily lives when we are not even aware of the fact that something that was there before is gone when we notice it. It doesn’t have to be spring. Think about it. I wonder if cherry blossoms, the symbol of spring, really existed in spring. Things can be turned upside down.

location：Desuigawa Erosion Control Park (Misumi area)
date：Late Mar.

EPISODE: The sound is clearer than usual for a shoot that begins with “Nice to meet you”. On this day, there was an atmosphere that reminded me of the fall shoot (episode 2), and I think I was listening to the sound of her moving and the sound of nature, and the shutter sounded in sync with them. We are losing touch with something, which is a little sad.

location：Near Myokenzan Observation Park (Aburaya area)
date：Late Mar.

EPISODE: It took about 30 minutes to get to the location after I told her that the sunlit cherry blossoms were just around the corner and very beautiful. I remember I was very nervous during that time. I was so happy to see such beautiful yōkōzakura that I smiled at her as she moved so lightly that I thought there was no gravity, and it was the day I was convinced that the season had moved from winter to spring. The color of her eyes in front of the full bloom, the color of the wind induced by the spring sunshine, the color of the sea in the distance, and the special colors that I cannot usually feel also shimmered through the lens. ⠀

location：Kumanoyama Park, near Tawarayama Community Center
date：Early April

EPISODE: When I was waiting for her in the car, I saw cherry petals dancing on the other side of the windshield. That’s when this story was born. The “window” has never moved. But the window is the boundary between the outside and the inside, and neither the outside nor the inside can help but move. To use a simple analogy, the window of a vehicle is always there, but the scenery outside and the people inside change. A more difficult analogy is that the mind is always there, but the color of the mind changes depending on the space and environment in which it resides. The window may be an incarnation. This is a tentative answer that I arrived at after agonizing over it.

location：Near Usagiwatadani bus stop
date：Early April

comment：While touring around Nagato, I thought to myself, “I want to walk through all the spaces. There are many comfortable spaces in Nagato, not only tourist spots. The same is true for the setting of this story. It is neither a sightseeing spot nor a cherry blossom viewing spot. However, there are many comfortable spaces in Nagato, which I hope you can feel while watching the story. It’s that feeling you get the moment you find it. The official page says, “Why don’t you try taking pictures of Nagato,” but perhaps there is more to that message. That feeling of excitement when you discover such a space, I can’t get enough of it. ⠀

location：Shibuki Station / near Tawarayama Community Center / Kangetsu River Park / near Nagato Yumoto IC⠀
date：Early April

EPISODE: Looking through the lens was probably the longest part of the shoot. I was looking through the lens the whole time she was dancing, seeking a moment that could not be conveyed through images. Because “#Nagato ni Monogatari wo” is shot entirely on film, the photos cannot be checked immediately as with digital. There is a time lag between the date of shooting and the finished photos, so when a photo like the fifth one is finished, I am especially happy that “I was here in this world,” and I remember the time when the photo was taken. Now that the shooting of the summer story has started, I am very much looking forward to seeing the spring, summer, fall, and winter of Nagato all together. Natsu! ⠀

location：Near Tawarayama Onsenkai / Near Tawarayama Community Center / Tawarayama Multipurpose Exchange Plaza
date：Late Mar.

COMMENTARY: That the seasons are also changing gradually. That even within spring, it is not the same spring all the time. The story is the same, changing in various ways, moving forward, backward, and lost. The situation is not exactly the same now as it was when we started looking at the story, or when we shot the film. There is always something that has changed. Finding such changes is like a treasure hunt. If you have a chance to see the story in front of you someday, it would be interesting to have such a correlation(?) of the story. might be interesting. So long, I hope you have forgotten about it. See you next year for the rest of the spring. ⠀

location：Mangdeoksa Temple (Aburaya area)
date：Late June

EPISODE: Beginning with the autumn shoot, we have finally reached the summer after a four-season tour. In early summer, we went to the famous hydrangea temple, Mukotokuji. The ocean was right in front of us, the expanse of shade was amazing, and we felt the summer glow as soon as we arrived. Since it was the best time to see the flowers, there were many people, and I had to wait several times for a place where I wanted to take pictures. That time turned into a space to quietly receive the summer otos. I felt as if I was looking at the space from somewhere else. Maybe it was the same space, but I felt as if a transparent wall was separating us. Early summer in Nagato. What kind of story did it reach you? Now that summer is in full swing, please take a moment to reflect on the beginning of summer.

location：Matsushima Coast (Misumi District)
date：Late July

COMMENTARY: The sea in summer is exceptional. Even Nagato, where the ocean is beautiful all year round, thinks so, but the crystal clear waters of summer make my eyes shine even brighter. The sparkling surface of the sea, the sight of fish swimming pleasantly, the moment they hit the rocks and pop. All of these cuts are not hard to imagine. The second is a story with the word “dream. The second is a story with the word “dream”: things that are there, things that move.

location：Tawarajima (Aburaya area)
date：Late June

EPISODE: I had always wanted to visit Tawara Island, which can be crossed at low tide. Dominated by the sound of the strong wind and the rumbling of the waves, it was a long walk to get there, and I walked hard with my girlfriend to get there. The day was so beautiful that we could see the Kakunoshima Bridge in the neighboring city of Shimonoseki, and even though we were dominated by the sound, we were impressed by the ocean stretching out before our eyes. The wind was so strong that even the conversation between her and I was carried away by the wind, so at first we talked while shooting, but from the middle of the day, I just watched her as she moved. When the wind stopped, she would stoop, when it got stronger, she would tonga, and sometimes she would float in a fluffy lace as if she were enveloping the wind. The horizon is pleasantly straight, but the contrast is so great. I think it was a shape that could only be captured here. Tawarajima, an island standing tall in the middle of the ocean.

location：Godan Falls (Tawarayama area)
date：Late August

COMMENT: I was very much looking forward to doing the summer shoot at this location, which is also the setting for the second episode, “Autumn Color Labyrinth. The murmuring of the river and the greenery that filled my field of vision. Even though it was summer, it was very cool, and I admired the shadows cast on her as we shot. When I looked at the finished photos, they were so full of shadows that I wanted to enlarge them, and I felt that it would be a shame to see them on a small screen. The light in summer is sharper than in autumn, but this is what makes the deep shadows appear. Light is very important in film photography. When the sun hides behind clouds, there is a time of “waiting for light. Waiting for that moment through the viewfinder is comfortable for me, but it may have been nerve-wracking for the photographer. In the blink of an eye, 20 episodes of “#Nagato ni Monogatari wo” have been shot, 12 per episode, which means that 240 images have been released to the public. Filming began last fall, and we were able to visit all four seasons in Nagato. I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of “autumn in Nagato” we will be able to encounter this year, as the second autumn approaches little by little.

location：Nami no Hashidate / Omi Island Seaside Hotel / Near the refreshing beach
date：Late July

COMMENT: Normally, I will give you a comment or episode for each completed story, but for this story, I will tell you in advance what will be connected to the next one. So, when the connected stories are completed, we will tell you a summary of the story. Enjoy.

location：Near Nagato Yumoto Onsen IC⠀
date：Late Aug.

comment：There are many places in Nagano where rice paddies are spread out. There are many things that change with the seasons, and rice paddies are one of them. They are flooded, planted, gradually lose their surface, bear fruit, are mowed, the ground appears, and are plowed. We know that even in the same place, there are changes every day, but we cannot notice them in the course of our daily lives. When I photograph the same cities and towns in this way, I am happy to be able to preserve them as a record, but at the same time I feel a sense of loneliness in these areas. This time they were lush, but you will see them mowed in Episode 6, “Hikari no α and β”. Actually, the same place. Next time, I would like to photograph it during the paddy season.

location：Near Nagato Misumi Station⠀
date：Mid-November

EPISODE: Last fall, I was nervous about whether I would be able to photograph the ginkgo with yellow leaves. Unfortunately, the shooting day came before the leaves turned yellow. Moreover, it was a day with a lot of clouds. I remember waiting for the sun to peek through the clouds with my girlfriend, hoping that the sun would peek through the gaps between the clouds. When the sun luckily appeared, we both said “Hikari! We both couldn’t help but exclaim, “Hikari! On this day, I think I was especially nervous about my index finger touching the shutter release button. It was worth it, and the blue sky gradually spread out. The story as a whole may not feel that way. The seventh photo in the story, where the eyes are like marbles, was a moment of light. If I could, I would have seen it directly, not through the lens. ⠀

location：Sainenji Temple
date：Late Nov.

COMMENT: This story was filmed at the autumn foliage spot in Nagato. This story is similar to the second story, “Autumn Color Labyrinth,” so please view it together with that one if you like. As I followed the girls’ movements, one cut at a time, the distance between me and them grew closer and farther. I would love to shoot in the same location on a nice day. And 12/10 is the day we started posting “#Photos for #Nagato”. So far 24 photo stories have been published. I am very curious to see which stories were the most impressive. There are still many places I would like to photograph and many places I haven’t found yet, so I would like to introduce them through photo stories.

location：Tawarayama area, Nagato City
date：Late Nov.

EPISODE: It’s just after 3:00 p.m., and the autumn light is in the silver grass. The ears swayed, the tips of her hair twitched, and she blinked. I wasn’t dazed, but I was bathed in so much light through the lens that I felt as if I were somewhere between reality and a dream. How can I compare the moment when even I, the photographer, was enveloped by the light? It is such a luxury to be able to think that way, to be in the moment of feeling that way, and I always wish to capture it in my photographs. I am always moved by the moments of light in the Tawarayama area of Nagato City, which always seems to overflow.

location：Near Aburaya Sports Park / Aburaya Island
date：Mid-December

COMMENTARY: It took about 40 minutes to get to the shooting location. The sky was overcast, but since we had a certain image of this story in place from the location scouting, we were able to shoot on the river and at the sea in a perfect atmosphere. As you may have sensed in the 10th picture, the sea shot had strong winds, as one would expect from the Sea of Japan in winter, and we were surrounded by the sound of the wind so much so that we could hardly have a conversation with her. That is why we were able to take some of the pictures we did, and I would be happy if you could imagine the atmosphere of the place as well as the story. This story is linked to the stories “Where is here after the sun goes down” and “The continuation of a dream is short, of course”. What kind of world is the main character living in? ⠀

location：Kangetsu River Park
date：Early April

COMMENTARY: If you were asked to compare last spring with this spring, how would you answer? There are many things that were present this spring that were not present last spring, and there are many things that were not present this spring that were present last spring. This story is linked to Episode 10, “If You Were an Hourglass. If you go back and look back a little, you may see it differently than you did the first time you saw it. This is the story of a photograph spun in the time before the western sun became stronger and a spring breeze passed through. May her world be a little warmer. And I hope that you will watch over the cherry blossoms that fascinate people in the limited time available, as if you were gently wrapping them in your arms.

location：Desuigawa Erosion Control Park (Misumi area)
date：Late Mar.

COMMENTARY: The day the cherry blossoms blended into the white sky. Is she lost or am I? I search for what I know I see within. The time I spent searching for her will never come back. But when she went far away and I became distant from her, I realized. What is it? I don’t know if we are looking at each other or not, but we are both in the vase. ⠀

location：Kangetsu River Park
date：Early April

comment：Something you feel when the next season is approaching. For the current season, it would be the appearance of rice paddies, the growth of hydrangeas, or swallows and fireflies. In #Nagato ni Monogatari (Tales in Nagato), we value not only the location of Nagato, but also the sense of the seasons. What people take from the cherry blossoms, a symbol of spring, is up to each individual, but please imagine what the main character of this story, the girl, found when she looked back. I hope to see you again when you have forgotten. See you next year for the continuation of spring.

location：Nami no Hashidate / Omi Island Seaside Hotel / Near the refreshing beach
date：Late July

COMMENT: This story is a story linked to Episode 21, “Through the Jewel of Tears”. This will probably be the longest series in “Nagato ni Monogatari wo”, so please let me share a comment or an episode when it is completed. Please look forward to it.

location：Near Nagato Yumoto Onsen IC
date：Late Aug.

COMMENT: When we started posting Episode 31, I was nervous about how many of you would feel nostalgic about the title and location, or if you would notice anything. If you are wondering what I am talking about, please go back to episode 22.
　I am very happy to have been able to successfully deliver a connected story over the past year. I am very happy to have successfully delivered the story of our connection over the past year. ⠀
This summer was not like summer and I felt so lonely that I missed summer, which always passes away in an instant. Still, I hope the photos convey the summer in Nagato. Bye bye August. ⠀

Location: Toufuri River Green Erosion Control Park / Along Prefectural Route 38 / Near Tsuda Noen direct sales shop
date: Late Nov.

COMMENT: As I mentioned on Twitter and in the story, one of the locations for this story, a gingko tree, was cut down while we were posting Episode 32. It was such a magnificent tree…it’s a shame. But in fact, some of the locations in the other stories have changed as well. One of the charms of photography is that it can stand by both the unchanging and the changing, and I hope to be able to cherish this in my photo projects.
　This story is one of the few in the Nagatoni Monogatari series. I would be happy if you look forward to the sequel.

⇒Currently under submission