"All of your thoughts are summarized in one definitive photo. That's the power of photography." Kishin Shinoyama Special Interview: "Kishin Shinoyama Exhibition The Power of Photography THE PEOPLE by KISHIN"
--The ``Kinobu Shinoyama Exhibition: The Power of Photography'' has been touring all over the country, and I hear that each venue has a special display of photos of people with ties to the area. Here at the Yokohama Museum of Art, I heard that this is the case with Hibari Misora's photographs. This time, two photos of Hibari Misora were on display, one of which was a large work of her sitting on a chair in a room with a Buddhist altar.
Shinoyama : This is a photo of Hibari Misora in her later years. Since he was in poor health and found it difficult to go to the studio, he was asked to take a photo of the record jacket at home. So, I asked him to visit his home and take some photos. The jacket photo was taken in a different room, but when I happened to look in the next room, I saw a huge Buddhist altar, flowers, and a photograph of a deceased person hanging on the wall behind me. Father, mother, brother's. Most of Hibari's family members passed away before her. Wow, I thought it was an amazing room, so I asked, ``Can I take a photo in here?'' and he said, ``Sure.''
――So it was a photo that you were able to take by chance.
Shinoyama : Yes, it wasn't about where I was going to present it, but it was just something I took. Shortly after Hibari passed away, she appeared in a magazine.
--This is a very valuable work.
Shinoyama : Even when we filmed that, Hibari wasn't in very good health. Even though it was a Japanese-style room, you were sitting on a chair, right? I could no longer sit upright on a cushion. I think he passed away about a year after that. And there was another small photo of Hibari next to it, right? This photo was taken on my sofa at home, but it was only available at the Yokohama venue.
――Aside from Hibari-san, what other people's photos can we especially see in Yokohama?
Shinoyama : Yuzu, Mitsuko Kusabue, Daisuke Miura, Riki Takeuchi, Tabaimo, and Eiko Koike. Eiko Koike is not from Yokohama, but this is one of the photos taken when we shot her DVD with Yokohama as the theme. I took this photo in front of the Red Brick Warehouse. The red brick lighting is very beautiful.
--By the way, which place in Yokohama do you think is photogenic?
Shinoyama : There are many photogenic places. The area where I often photograph is the area where there is a foreign cemetery. The Western-style building has become a house studio. I often take pictures there.
--The natural atmosphere of Yuzu's photo was also wonderful.
Shinoyama : That's right. The girl in the photo surrounded by the two Yuzu girls is called "Yuppi," and at the time the photo was taken (2008), she was still a teenager and was singing on the street. Yuppi came to see this exhibition. She's not singing at the moment, but seems to be studying to pass the university entrance exam. You said you wanted to be a doctor.
--I'm sure you must have been deeply moved as well. How was Mitsuko Kusabue's photo taken?
Shinoyama : Kusabue-san's photo is from the fashion page of a magazine called ``Kateigaho.''
--Photographed in 2016. It's just recently.
Shinoyama : Yes. Kusabue-san and I have been doing this for quite some time, but this was our first time shooting. He looks really good...as expected from a veteran (lol).
