Dream

A photobook by Joji Hashiguchi. This is the fifth book in a series of works focusing on Japan and the Japanese people.

This book features portraits of 97 individuals who have lived through the four eras of Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei, set against the backdrop of their living spaces, along with their answers to a common set of questions. Photography began in December 1993 with Hidekazu Hori, who lived in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, and concluded in March 1997 with Kosue Sakaguchi from Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture.

Prior to this, Hashiguchi had published "Seventeen's Map," "Father," "Couple," and "Occupation 1991-1995 WORK." By traveling across Japan, photographing individuals head-on, and repeatedly asking the same questions, he brought to light their ways of life and the outlines of their respective eras. In "Dream," he further added questions such as "Where have you lived so far?", "What kind of work have you done so far?", and "If you could be reborn, what kind of life would you want to live?"

The people depicted are those who have lived on in their respective places, even while being tossed about by major historical currents such as war, poverty, conscription, servitude, labor, and migration. Through their personal histories, Hashiguchi seeks to explore 100 years of modern Japanese history.

As the title "Dream" suggests, this book asks how people who have lived long lives perceive their own existence, and from where their resilience and strength originate. It is a collection that, through the contrast between modern Japanese people who have achieved freedom and affluence, and generations who survived with limited choices, encourages reflection on humility towards "life" and the meaning of recognizing the existence of others.

This work represents a culmination of Hashiguchi's decade-long endeavor to understand Japan and its people. Through the portraits and voices of 97 individuals, it is a book that intertwines individual lives with the memories of an era.

[Title] Yume / Dream
[Publisher] Media Factory
[Publication Date] May 26, 1997
[Page Count] 105 pages
[Size] Approx. 308 x 308 x 16mm / 1,330g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] YUME
[Author/Editor] Joji Hashiguchi / Author, Photographer, Writer, Jun Mimura / Design
[Printing] Mitsumura Printing Co., Ltd. / Printing, Binding
[ISBN] 9784889914450
[Condition] Used [5] Good (Cover: foxing, Book block: slight foxing on top edge)
[Accessories] Dust jacket, Obi
[Featured in] -
[Related Exhibitions] "Joji Hashiguchi: Japanese Series" (Tokyo Polytechnic University Shashin-Daigaku Gallery, 2017)

Joji Hashiguchi (born 1949)

Born in Kagoshima Prefecture. Photographer.

After dropping out of university, he moved to Tokyo to study photography. In 1981, he received the 18th Taiyo Award for "Gaze," a series of photographs of young people gathered on the streets. Since then, he has consistently documented people's portraits and their words, establishing himself as one of Japan's leading documentary photographers.

From 1987, he began photographing Japanese people. He published "Seventeen's Map" in 1988, "Father" in 1990, "Couple" in 1992, "Occupation 1991-1995 WORK" in 1996, and "Dream" in 1997. By visiting various parts of Japan, photographing individuals head-on, and recording their responses to standardized questions, he has brought to light the individuality of each person and the era and society behind them.

He has also published works such as "BERLIN," "Hof - Memories of Berlin," and "Zoo," which deal with people living under different religions and political systems, and the memories of cities. He has held photography exhibitions and workshops both domestically and internationally, developing his unique methodology for observing people.

His major works include "Seventeen's Map," "Father," "Couple," "Occupation 1991-1995 WORK," "Dream," "BERLIN," "17," "Hof - Memories of Berlin," and "A Personal Memory: War Across the Ocean and Those Who Survived."

His major awards include the Taiyo Award (1981), the Higashikawa Award for Domestic Photographer (1992), and the Photographic Society of Japan Annual Award (1992).

His major collections are held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, and the Kawasaki City Museum, among others.

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