Preface : Indians in Kansai
The relationship between Japan and India has a long history, beginning when Buddhism was introduced
to Japan in the 6th century. Over the course of its long history, the values and spirituality of
the two countries were harmonized, but actual human exchanges began in the modern era.
Surprisingly, it is not well known that many Indians immigrated to Japan from the late Meiji period,
formed a community centering on Kobe, and lived there for generations.
We were inspired by a wonderful novel about Indian immigrants called "The Namesake," which a
friend told us about, and when we wanted to express the state of Indian society in Japan through
photography, then we met Consul General Nikhilesh Giri by chance.
With the great support of the Consulate General of India Osaka-Kobe, we started a wonderful photo
project exactly as we had envisioned, capturing the present and future of Indian society in the
Kansai region through photography.
We chose Flows as the theme for this work.
The megatrend of globalization is just like the flow of a big river, nothing remains unchanged, and
it transforms people's values and society. It is well known that the sacred river in India is the
Ganges, but the past, the present and the future that will eventually become the past.
They are all in great flows like the Ganges.
The work of cutting out this flow with photography was a series of things that made us think very
much. The photographs we took were produced using classical photography techniques, and we tried
to create new expressions by fusing them with digital techniques.
By fusing the texture of a one-of-a-kind classic photo with digital, I think I was able to skillfully
portray the transition of the times and the changes in values. In the coming decades, the word immigrant
will become obsolete, and the acceptance and integration of foreign cultures will progress even
further in Japan. Among them, what will change and what will not change?
We hope that this project will record the changes in Kansai Indian society in the midst of the tide
of globalization for future generations, and that it will serve as an opportunity for those viewing this
photo to think about the direction of globalization in the future.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Consul General Nikilesh Giri, the Consulate General
of India for giving us this opportunity, and everyone who cooperated in the photo shoot.
Ryota Tanimura
Kumiko Wakabayashi
Kazuhito Matsumoto
Kumiko Wakabayashi
Photograph, Classical photograph processing
A classical photographer based in Osaka, who creates works using classical techniques. He has won many awards, including the 2014 Ashiya Photography Association First Grand Prix Award and the
2019 MI Gallery MIG Award. He was selected for Salon d'automne overseas in 2018 and 2021. 2021 Exhibition of technology provided to Yasumasa Morimura, 2022 Alphonse Mucha Museum Mucha Labo #01
"Painting ⇔ Photo" exhibition, other invitations (Canada, Korea, Russia, Italy, Austria), WS, lectures, etc. During.
Ryota Tanimura
Photograph, storytelling, concept making
While working in overseas sales for emerging markets at Kubota Corporation, a machinery manufacturer, he also engages in creative activities in the literary field, including photography, novels, and essays. His literary activities won a prize in the essay category of the 10th Herbis Travel Award sponsored by Hanshin Electric Railway and the Japan Travel Writers Association, and his photography was exhibited at the 1st Classical Photograph using Van Dyke Brown prints.
He is in charge of the concept, storytelling, and photography of this exhibition.
Kazuhito Matsumoto
Edit & Design
Completed IAMAS Graduate School of Media Arts and Sciences, Department of Media Expression. While considering media aesthetics, he presents works such as a cassette tape recorder that allows solo
chanting, and a poetic expression called "concrete poetry" that uses iconographic text. He also supports artists in Kansai.
FLOWS Project WORKS
Modern classic photo process
Migration-1
In the middle of the last century, many Indian immigrants traveled from India to Yokohama and Kobe via Hong Kong.
They descended to Kobe, the biggest port of Asia then, and were fascinated by the
magnificent European style architecture that stands in the old settlement,
dreaming of tomorrow's success.
2021
A Pearl Trader
In addition to the textile industry, the main business of Indian immigrants in Japan since early stage has been the trading of pearls.
Kobe is still a global pearl trading market, and for more than half a century, Kobe's Indian merchants have had a great deal of influence in this sector.
2021
The Divergence
People change. Even in Indian culture, which has relatively conservative values, immigrant values vary from generation to generation.
The values of each generation cannot fill the gap and diverge gradually.
This time, we will exhibit one of the several series of works.
2021
Come and Go 1
Kyoto University, which is a prestigious school representing the Kansai region, attracts extremely talented Indians, from professors to students.
Many Indian students leave Kyoto University, where they study, and travel to
Germany, Tokyo, Canada, the United States, and other countries to expand their
activities to the world.
A work that attempts to express the dynamism of young Indian students, mainly
from Kyoto University.
2022
Come and Go 2
Kyoto University, which is a prestigious school representing the Kansai region, attracts extremely talented Indians, from professors to students.
Many Indian students leave Kyoto University, where they study, and travel to
Germany, Tokyo, Canada, the United States, and other countries to expand their
activities to the world.
With a different color touch from Come and Go 1, we tried to express the past,
present, and future.
2022
Cell researchers
At ICEMS, Kyoto University's research base for material-cell integration, Indian students and researchers led by Professor Ganesh are working on the world's most
advanced cell research.
Among them, the activities of female researchers are also conspicuous.
They can be said to be role models.
2022
Traces of the shadow
Kathak dance, which has roots in the Middle East among many Indian dances and has large movements, was expressed in Van Dyke brown printing and color.
Japanese people who learn Kathak dance also absorb the tradition and build their
own style of Kathak dance.
Indeed, culture changes form and is inherited by people with different nationalities
but with aspirations.
2022
New ethnicity - Maya’s case
Maya Tagore Erwin, who has roots in the Tagore family, an Indian author who was
the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, was born between an Indian
father and a Japanese mother.
Born and raised in contact with the cultures of both Japan and India, she has
embraced her diverse values and cultivated her global sensibilities from an early age.
She loves both India and Japan where she has her spiritual roots and has a long
career as a TV reporter and event organizer with her fluent English and Japanese.
Even now, she travels between Japan and America, and her identity is in Kansai.
2022
Migration-2
The Indian community in Kobe expanded greatly from the mid-1920s.
Many Indian immigrants had family businesses such as trading and spent most of
their lives in Japan.
For example, he came to Japan at the age of 2 and grew up in Kitano, surrounded
by Japanese friends from an early age and growing up listening to Japanese.
A person's identity and sense of values are determined largely by the environment
in which they were born and raised.
His face and demeanor reflect the influence of the international city of Kobe, which has embraced multiple cultures such as Japan and India.
Ｗhere is their hometown?
2023
Connect flows
In an era when globalization was not as advanced as it is today, international marriage must have been rare.
Even more so for Japanese and Indian couples.
The two, who met through the correspondence column of a magazine, exchanged
letters over and over for a long period of time that would be daunting to young people today, met for the first time in England, and got married in Japan.
They have been married for more than 40 years, and amidst the turmoil of the
times, they have woven love like the calm flow of the Kamo River.
A child was born in Kyoto, and a grandchild was born. Life transcends national borders and is passed on to the next generation.
They say that the culture of valuing community relationships is very similar and highly compatible in both India and Kyoto.
They laughed that the Kamo River and the Hooghly River were connected
somewhere.
2023