The Future Girl

The Future Girl

Life talks to photographer Kotori Kawashima who introduced the world to Mirai-chan

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
The Future Girl

Since last year, photos of a wide-eyed, rosy-cheeked Japanese girl with cropped bangs have flooded social networking sites. The photos depict the girl up to various antics _ from crying to playing with pets _ in what seems to be an idyllic Japanese town.

We soon learned that the adorable child is simply called "Mirai-chan", or Little Miss Future.

Our Little Miss has now arrived in Bangkok, in prints, for "Mirai-chan. A Photo Exhibition by Kotori Kawashima" which runs until Dec 15.

If we had to speculate the kind of man who has beautifully captured a cherubic angel at her most natural, the guess would have veered towards a grandfatherly lensman. But Kawashima, who was recently in town to install and promote his exhibition, looks to be more of your timid, nice-guy-next-door art student type. Although reserved, Kawashima speaks with a subtle glint in his eyes which must have come in handy when dealing with small children who can sense good human nature from afar.

The project kicked off when Kawashima was asked to participate in a photo exhibition and Mirai-chan, who is the second child of his friend, grabbed his attention. As a child born and raised on Sadogashima island in Niigata Prefecture, Mirai-chan, whose real name, understandably, can't go on record for the sake of the child's safety, presented Kawashima with endless possibilities.

"When I first saw her I knew I wanted to work with her. I was so impressed with her energy. It was so raw with an almost animalistic quality. She was inspiring. Initially, I wasn't sure if I should take her photos, but once I returned to Tokyo, I knew I had to do it. As a country girl, she was very different from Tokyo kids. She didn't know what a camera was. When I met her it was the first time she finally realised what a camera could do, but she paid no heed to it. Tokyo kids would be aware they were being photographed, so they would pose. That wasn't the case with Mirai-chan," he said.

Kotori Kawashima.

Mirai-chan also has an equally adorable brother who is three years older. He features in some of the shots, but Mirai-chan remains the star.

''Her brother is such a cool kid. But Mirai-chan was so young that she didn't really know anything, and that was interesting to me.''

Over the course of a little more than a year, from the end of 2009 to January 2011, Kawashima travelled back and forth to the island once a month, and stayed for around 10 days on each trip. The year-long sojourn was also an opportunity for Kawashima to record Mirai-chan in four seasons. Just as Mirai-chan ages, the island landscape also alters seasonally _ from blooming sunflowers in the summer to vast snow covered fields in the cold winter. At the beginning of the process, Mirai-chan, the daughter of an office worker, was two. Kawashima was there when she turned three. She is now five.

''She changed constantly. She was constantly growing. At first she was like a kitten. But the more I spent time with her, the more human she became. She was like an adult in pint size,'' said Kawashima.

As we all suspect, bringing professional photography and small children together is no simple task. The younger they are, the less they can be controlled and contained. They are forever mobile and their moods are unpredictable. Tantrums are to be expected. Small divas, they can sometimes be. Kawashima approached the Little Miss from a different vantage point.

''I didn't think of it as a photo project. It was more like spending time with her, getting to know her. I took her picture when I felt like it. Sometimes she cried, and I would snap a few if she had particular reasons for crying. Having said that, it could be frustrating at times because you couldn't always get the shots you wanted. But she is a kid, and that's what kids do. They move all the time,'' he said.

So what then would be your tips for taking good, unpretentious children photographs?

''You really have to be committed. You must want to spend time with them. Also, you have to get along with them,'' said Kawashima.

Kawashima is no stranger to Thailand. He has been here for work and on his travels, and he's spotted the difference between his homeland and Thailand. While many Thais wish to be reborn in the Land of the Rising Sun, Kawashima finds it hard to understand such desire.

Mirai-chan APhoto Exhibition by Kotori Kawashima On show until Dec 15 at Mass Universe, Sukhumvit 34. Open11amto7pmfrom Tuesday to Saturday.

''Why? I feel that Thais are generally happier. Thailand is so colourful. The Sun is brighter and, of course, it's hotter!'' he said, adding that he would like to travel around Asia, documenting people's lives by his camera.

Now an in-demand freelance photographer, Kawashima, 32, wasn't always in love with his craft. In high school, his first passion was cinema and filmmaking. He thought that photography would allow him to practice framing and seeing, preparing himself for the world of cinema. But since he picked up the camera, he hasn't been able to put it down.

Kawashima continued to take photos even when he enrolled to study French literature, also out of love of French cinema, at Waseda University. When he graduated, he got a job as an assistant photographer. Kawashima cited the famed Japanese photographer Araki as his source of inspiration and influence. To the world, Araki is better known for his artistically erotic photos which include famous bindings, but Kawashima must have taken after the artist's genuine warmth and colour control from his daily life photos.

''True, Araki takes a lot of extreme photos, but I think at his core it is all about humanity. I try to tap into the kind side, the warm side of his works,'' he said.

He might have achieved just that. There are now two major photo books of Mirai-chan in circulation alongside abundant other collaborative efforts that feature Kawashima's works.

The success and Mirai-chan craze are surprisingly unknown to the little girl herself.

''She has seen the photos. I have yet to ask her what she thinks. But hopefully she won't be affected by any of this. The main purpose of her photos was to tell stories of an ordinary life. I sure hope that hers will remain simple and unchanged,'' he said.

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