Yasuhiro Ogawa: Lost in Kyoto
‘I have been obsessed with Kyoto over the years because of the dense atmosphere the ancient city holds. That atmosphere must be the result of the essence of history that has gradually seeped into the land, brewing over time. In the 1,200 years since Kyoto was founded, many battles have been fought, much blood has been shed, and many people have died. The joys, sorrows, prayers, wishes, tears and struggles of so many people are layered on top of each other like a stratum, and as time goes by, the weight of these layers accumulates.
It is this kind of history of Kyoto that I have been trying to visualize over the past decade. Not history as a superficial record, but history as a “living creature” that has been nurtured and cultivated throughout people’s lives. Yes, Kyoto’s history deserves to be called a “living creature.” It has a pulse; it breathes. I believe that the richness of Kyoto’s air is generated by the body heat of history, history as a”living creature”. – Yasuhiro Ogawa
About the Author
Born in Kanagawa, Japan, in 1968, Yasuhiro Ogawa earned a B.A. in English Literature from Kanagawa University. He began photographing in his early twenties and has worked professionally since 2000.
Over the years, Ogawa has published seven photobooks and three zines, among them Slowly Down the River (Creo, 2008), Shimagatari (Sokyusha, 2014), Cascade (Sokyusha, 2017), The Dreaming (Sokyusha, 2020), Tokyo Silence (T&M Projects, 2022), Into the Silence (Blue Lotus Editions & Photo Editions, 2023), and Lost in Kyoto (Photo Editions, 2025).
His work has received numerous honors, including the Taiyo Award for his debut solo exhibition Futashika-na Chizu (2000) and the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer Award for Slowly Down the River (2009). He was also shortlisted for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (2006) and the Hayashi Tadahiko Award (2015).
