Masashi Asada
My Bunagaya
In the Yambaru forests, “bunagaya” live quietly (“Bunagaya” are red-haired, small-bodied beings that look like spirits or ghosts).
It is said that Bunagaya is found near the water in the forest because it is a good at fishing and likes to eat the left eye of a fish. He also likes to sumo wrestle somehow, and the people who meet him are said to be happy. Although bunagaya make me want to meet them once in my lifetime if possible, they have never been pictured even once before. Therefore, this time, I created a spot where you can take a picture with a Bunagaya.
Of course, you cannot take a picture with a real Bunagaya, but you can have someone in your family become a Bunagaya, your favorite stuffed toy become a Bunagaya, or you can even take a picture by yourself as a Bunagaya. I hope you take pictures with your own camera, imagining a scene like “encountering a Bunagaya deep in the Yambaru forest.""
What exactly is a Bunagaya?
I would be happy if we could think about it together through the photographs.
Direction: Kazuki Kitahara
Illustration: Lily Kumachan
Costume: Yuuka Miyazono & Yusuke Ono
Lighting: Chihiro Nishihira
Exhibition hall
Ogimi Village Former Shioya Elementary School 538 Shioya, Ogimi Village, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa
ARTIST
Masashi Asada
Photographer. Born in Mie Prefecture in 1979. After graduating from the Graduate School of Photography at Nihon College of Photography and Imaging Arts, he worked as a studio assistant before setting up his own studio. In 2009, he won the 34th Ihei Kimura Photography Award for his photo collection "The Asada Family" (published by Akaasha in 2008). In 2010, he held his first major solo exhibition, "Tsu Family Land: Masashi Asada Photography Exhibition" at the Mie Prefectural Art Museum. He has been actively showing his work in solo exhibitions and art projects in Japan and abroad, including PARCO MUSEUM TOKYO, Mori Art Museum, Hong Kong International Festival of Photography, Dogo Onsenart 2018, Kanaz Forest of Creation, and Art Tower Mito. In 2020, the film "The Asada Family," based on his book "The Asada Family" and "The Power of Albums" (published by Akarasha in 2015), will be released in Toho theaters nationwide.