After 6 years from his debut series of "NAMI" (wave), the new subject he chose for another exploration was "KAWA" (river) ---
One day he encounter a small stream: being struck with a fresh impression of the background of river - pouring down in one direction and finally become one with the grand sea - Syoin Kajii started photographing rives since then. From the Igazu Falls, to rivers in Japan, China, Australia, Canada, Morocco and Zimbabwe, he spent 6 years for traveling around the world and shooting the native rivers.
From the earliest times, "river" has been always next to us,as the base of our living and culture. At the same time, as seen in the Buddhist expression of the Sanzu river, it's often compared to a special existence which is laid across on the border of here and there. As Kajii says, the nature of photographing the very moment of the flow was similar to chanting a sutra as both require to get concentrated and to make out the nature of a thing by facing to it properly. Releasing awe-inspiring energy, this book "KAWA" powerfully delivers variety of features of rivers.



Syoin Kajii photo exhibition
"KAWA"
17 Sep (Fri) -16 Oct(Sat), 2010
12：00 -19：00(except the opening day , close at 18:00)
Closed on Sunday and National Holiday
at FOIL GALLERY

 

Syoin Kajii Profile:
Born in Niigata, Japan in 1976. Lives and works in Niigata. Graduated from Koyasan University in Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism) in 1999. Started taking photograph in the age of 16. After having served Buddhist apprenticeship at Koyasan (Mt. Koya) from 1995 to 1999, traveled around the world, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thai, Papua New Guinea and U.K., for photo shooting. In 2004, he was awarded the 1st FOIL Award for his series of pictures in which he took a succession of waves on a shore in Sado. Following the FOIL Award, he published photo book NAMI and was awarded the Rookie of the Year 2005 by The Photographic Society of Japan for this overwhelmingly energetic and spiritual book. His another project of photographing rural places suffering from serious depopulation, has published as "Marginal Village" (FOIL) in 2009 and he was also awarded by The Gotoh Memorial Foundation for this achievment. While working as a monk of Singon Sect in Sado Island, he's been actively working as a photographer.



Title: KAWA
Author: Syoin Kajii
Design: Tatsuya Ariyama
Price: 2500 yen (tax excluded)
Size: 210 x 296 mm
112 pages / Soft Cover / Full Color
ISBN 978-4-902943-58-X C0072
(September, 2010)










This is revised version of the best-selling photobook of Syoin Kajii's "NAMI",originally published by Little More in 2004.
This is a first photobook of Syoin Kajii, who won the grand prix at the 1st FOIL award.
Syoin Kajii has been taking photographs of the waves in Sado island with his digital camera while being a priest of Shingon in the island.
Making the close investigation of the velocity and hight of the wind, Syoin Kajii carefully catches the aimed waves, and even in the furious storm, he ambitiously keeps directing his lens to the waves.
These his particular effort and belief made up this spiritual and dynamic photographs which give out overwhelming power.
Through the art of the designer Hideki Nakajima, this publication has been completed as a magnificent and noble photobook.

※There has been no changes in the contents and the cover from the "NAMI", published from Little More in 2004.

 

Syoin Kajii Profile:
Born in Niigata, Japan in 1976. Lives and works in Niigata. Graduated from Koyasan University in Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism) in 1999. Started taking photograph in the age of 16. After having served Buddhist apprenticeship at Koyasan (Mt. Koya) from 1995 to 1999, traveled around the world, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thai, Papua New Guinea and U.K., for photo shooting. In 2004, he was awarded the 1st FOIL Award for his series of pictures in which he took a succession of waves on a shore in Sado. Following the FOIL Award, he published photo book NAMI and was awarded the Rookie of the Year 2005 by The Photographic Society of Japan for this overwhelmingly energetic and spiritual book. His another project of photographing rural places suffering from serious depopulation, has published as "Marginal Village" (FOIL) in 2009 and he was also awarded by The Gotoh Memorial Foundation for this achievment. While working as a monk of Singon Sect in Sado Island, he's been actively working as a photographer.



Title: NAMI
Photographer: Syoin Kajii
Design: Hideki Nakajima
Price: 2800 yen (tax excluded)
ISBN：978-4-902943-21-4
Dimension: 251x383mm
Pages: 40
Binding: Hard cover
Full-color
(July, 2007)









423 villages will be disappeared in 10 years
without being realized by anyone...

This is a documentary by Syoin Kajii, which reports the severe circumstances of the depopolated small villages and the pressing lives of the people there with the authors earnes ant warm eyes. Starting from Sado Island,where Syoin Kajii lives and works, he has visited, what we call "Marginal Village", where more than 50% of the inhabitants are over 65 years old, and taken photographs of the portraits of the people hold up through the hardship and scenary of such villages. While metropolitan cities like Tokyo are well know for the spectacular appearance and its the newest technology, the reality Syoin Kajii portrays is also the other, perhaps more realistic, aspect of Japan.






 

Syoin Kajii Profile:
Born in Niigata, Japan in 1976. Lives and works in Niigata. Graduated from Koyasan University in Mikkyo (Esoteric Buddhism) in 1999. Started taking photograph in the age of 16. After having served Buddhist apprenticeship at Koyasan (Mt. Koya) from 1995 to 1999, traveled around the world, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thai, Papua New Guinea and U.K., for photo shooting. In 2004, he was awarded the 1st FOIL Award for his series of pictures in which he took a succession of waves on a shore in Sado. Following the FOIL Award, he published photo book NAMI and was awarded the Rookie of the Year 2005 by The Photographic Society of Japan for this overwhelmingly energetic and spiritual book. His another project of photographing rural places suffering from serious depopulation, has published as "Marginal Village" (FOIL) in 2009 and he was also awarded by The Gotoh Memorial Foundation for this achievment. While working as a monk of Singon Sect in Sado Island, he's been actively working as a photographer.

 

 

Title ：Marginal Village
Photos and Texts：Syoin Kajii
Design：Takashi Miyagawa
Price：1400yen（tax excluded）
ISBN978-4-902943-29-0
Size：19x13 cm
Full Color／176 Pages／Soft Cover
(February, 2008)
*Japanese Texts Only

 


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