Shadows in Suburbia
During the period of rapid economic growth in Japan, many suburbs were developed within commuting distance for the working population concentrated in the cities. Forests were cut down and villages were transformed into towns lined with condominiums, apartments, and houses. A quarter century later, these suburbs are facing the realities of a declining birthrate, aging population, and deteriorating infrastructure. However, the daily routine of commuting by train in the morning and returning to sleep at night had continued.
In 2020, the pandemic hit the world and shook up that routine. People were afraid of contact and stayed at home. Two years have passed, and a new daily life called the “New Normal” has begun, but people are frightened by earthquakes and still worry about the growing numbers of Covid-infected people. At times, nature is ruthless.
When the darkness of the night descends over the land where our ancestors used to hunt deer, and fortune-tellers predict the future with bones, I secretly place a trace of the wild into the landscape. I let the shadow of memories which once lived emerge from the old strata under the surface of the suburbs into the present.
