Japanese / Japan
Soshite boku wa tabi ni deta. Hajimari no mori nōsu uzzu
(And then I went on a journey. It began in the Northwoods)
Ōtake, Hidehiro
(text)
Tōkyō: Asunaro shobō, 2017. – 418 p. + 6 p.
ISBN 978-4-7515-2868-6
USA | Canada | Northwoods | Journey | Photographer | Brandenburg, Jim | Non-fiction
Reading age: 16+
White Ravens issue: 2019
Inspired by the renowned photographer Michio Hoshino (1952-1996), Hidehiro Ōtake here expresses himself through photos and insightful texts. “Soshite boku wa tabi ni deta” is a non-fiction book, which vividly captures the sound, smell, and wonder of the breath-taking scenery of the American Northwoods. When Ōtake was a university student twenty years ago, he dreamed of a wolf in the woods. The next day, he found the photographic collection of wolves taken by acclaimed American photographer Jim Brandenburg (b. 1945). After his attempt to become Brandenburg’s apprentice failed, he decided to visit the forest despite not having Brandenburg’s exact address. He travelled the Northwoods by canoeing on the lakes, portaging over land, camping, and surviving a stormy night. During his “spiritual quest”, Ōtake thought about his motivation for taking photos, the relationship between man and nature, and where human beings’ tendency to separate ourselves from nature will lead us. This book encourages young people to take the first step in their independent lives.