Koji Takiguchi: “Sou” – Celebration of Death in the Family

"Window Sou", a photo book by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Takiguchi. Born in 1977. He graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2001 with a degree in design, but in 2018 he went on to enter the master's program in design at the Graduate School of Fine Arts in Tokyo University of the Arts, energetically releasing his works and private photo albums including university production. Hiroshi Takiguchi who is. In 2004, he was awarded the Nomination for Araki Nobuyoshi Award for Excellence in the "New Cosmos of Photography" and the Associate Grand Prix, but he is a versatile photographer who has won awards not only for photography but also for animation and painting.

Japan – 

Published by Little Big Man Books, Japan, Photography feature – Koji Takiguchi‘s images document his wife and her family over several years. During this time her mother died very suddenly from cancer. Immediately after that her father was committed to hospital and remained their indefinitely. While he was still in hospital Takiguchi’s wife gave birth to their son, and then, as if they had been hanging on for the happy event of the birth, her father and the beloved family cat passed away in quick succession.

When Takiguchi looked back over the photos that he had taken over this time, and also the photos of his wife’s father and mother from their younger days that had been left behind, he strongly felt that the two sets of photos were part of a single series.
Takiguchi’s wife told him how, at the moment that her mother took her last breath, she slowly cast her gaze out of the window as if she had caught site of something in the empty sky, and it was then that she slipped away. The “Window”, as he took from inside the room out through it, separates this from that side, symbolising the thin, fragile border that remarks life and death.

In Japanese the kanji for “Window” is “窓”, pronounced “MADO”. But it can also be pronounced “SOU”, which is shared with other kanji, such as “相” meaning ’Together’, “想” meaning ‘Believe’ or ‘Mind’, “喪” meaning ‘Mourning’, “葬” meaning ‘Funeral’, “添う” meaning ‘Accompany’, and so on.

Related Posts

Video: Emaho Mussoorie Workshop with Cristina de Middel & Ricardo Cases in collaboration with IED Madrid

Organized by EMAHO and IED MADRID Dated: June 19-22nd June,2014 India The recent success of the Spanish photobook has produced much curiosity and …

Kursat Bayhan : Away From Home

Turkey – I saw the work of Kürşat Bayhan while I was teaching a workshop in Bursa in September 2012. …

Ernesto Bazan : A Sicilian Revelation

Mexico – With an eclectic body of enriching, honest and deeply committed work, one can only admire the talent that …

Anastasia Taylor-Lind: MAIDAN – Portraits from the Black Square

Ukraine –  ‘MAIDAN – Portraits from the Black Square’ by Photography feature – Anastasia Taylor-Lind is a series of portraits of …

The PhotoBookMuseum by Schaden Foundation

Germany –    The PhotoBookMuseum (The_PBM) pays tribute to the central form of expression in photography: the photobook. To introduce …

In Confrontation With The Apparent – Swapan Parekh

India – Emaho caught up with celebrated Indian Photographer Swapan Parekh who is  widely acclaimed for having brought  the documentary …

Eriko Koga: “Issan” – Magical visit to 1200 year old monastery in Mt. Koya

Japan – In 2009, photographer Eriko Koga visited Mt. Kōya, home of a 1,200 year old Buddhist monastery in the …

John Vink: ‘The photographer is not a hero’

Cambodia- Based out of Cambodia for the past 13 years, Belgium born photojournalist John Vink, member of the prestigious Magnum …

Thabiso Sekgala : Second Transition

South Africa –  ‘Second Transition’ is the series of images that I’ve photographed in the areas around the mining town …