Shadows in Suburbia

During the periods of high economic success in Japan, many housing suburbs were developed within commuting areas for the working population concentrated in the cities. Forests were carved out and villages were transformed into towns lined with condominiums, apartments and houses. A quarter of a century has passed, these suburbs are facing the realities of the challenges of declining birthrate, aging population and an aging infrastructure. However, the daily routine of commuting by train in the morning and returning to sleep at night continued. In 2020, the pandemic hit the world and changed that routine life. People were afraid of contact and stayed at home. Two years have passed and a new daily life called the New Normal has begun, but we are frightened by earthquakes and worry about the growing numbers of infected population. At times, nature is ruthless. When the darkness of the night descent over the land where our ancestors used to hunt deer and fortune-tellers predict the future with bones, I secretly put a trace of the wild on the landscape. Then, I let the shadow of memories which once lived emerge from the old strata under the surface of the suburbs into the present.