Soft Focus
oft Focus is a photographic series documenting the character of suburban Kyoto through its privacy windows.
Japan’s ancient capital is an impossibly charming place. It spills over with grandiose historical sites, elegant gardens and superbly preserved wooden townhouses, but there is a less obvious aspect of Kyoto that makes it a great place to live. Almost entirely flat with plenty of quiet, narrow streets, it is the perfect environment for cycling. During my two years as a visitor, I got around almost entirely by bicycle. I took new and unusual routes whenever I could. Travelling this way allows you to absorb the unique details and character of a city, and I often find myself stopping to appreciate the ‘Showa-kata itagurasu’ [昭和型板ガラス] or Showa-style glass window typical of its older homes.
I was fascinated by the interplay of glass textures with the diffused colour and form of the objects behind. I started keeping my camera on me so I could capture these unexpected domestic compositions as they were likely to shift, change or completely disappear from one day to the next. Sometimes the windows revealed a lot of individuality, perhaps intentionally, and other times they gave you just a brief glimpse into the day-to-day of someone else’s life.
The buildings’ exteriors told a secondary story of generational change – from the dilapidated metal cladding and weathered timber of the past to the more indestructible sprayed concrete & aluminium frames of now. I was intrigued by the contrast between interior and exterior, by how these apertures could create a scene-within-a-scene. Like the tangled mass of overhead powerlines, tiny local businesses, hidden shrines and gurgling canals, these distinctive windows are part of what makes local Kyoto so captivating.
