[ʤjɑːzuː | jyazu] (n) jazz, (P) Why “jyazu”? “Yaz” was my nickname for as long as I first chose one back when I wasn’t even tall enough to reach the arcade stick of the arcades that my father had in his bar, where you’d need a 3 letters nickname to save your score at the end. It was fitting that “yaz” was contained in “jyazu”, jazz in Japanese, as it is a music genre that I really love. Hence the birth of “jyazu”, the wandering photographer!
Waking up before to dawn to capture a sunrise over Mount Fuji, somewhere lost among the tea fields.
I can remember taking my very first pictures at Versailles Castle with a Kodak disposable camera. I was something around 8 at the time? Go figure, but I was always drawn to photography. I was a shy kid, so it made sense — you could hide behind your camera but still be able to tell a story. And telling stories was what I loved most. I was an introvert, remember? What else could I do but read, and imagine what the world could resemble! Setting my eye into the viewfinder, letting my imagination wander, pressing the shutter to make it become real. That’s how I fell in love with photography.
Photography has been consuming passion ever since — my cameras never leaving my side. Wherever I go, I have something to capture the stories I tell myself, inside my head. And as consuming was my passion for Japan. It began almost as early, this introverted child spending all his time, nose deep in books and other encyclopedias. By way of Confucius and Lao Tseu, I discovered Buddhism, and Zen. I was fascinated by how diametrically opposed these philosophies were from ours. And yet they resonated so deeply —the concept of buddhahood and enlightenment, the mysticism of the koans, the beauty of the temples. And so began my journey as a “lover of Japanese culture”. I loved poetry, and I went from writing classical and convoluted alexandrines with caesuras to the utter simplicity of haikus.
So fulfilling a lifelong dream, by going to Japan, I’ll let you imagine how many stories I wanted to tell. First there was sifting out the truth from the false, the foreign clichés from the lived reality. That was back in 2005, my first trip to those far lands to the East — still very much of an unseasoned traveler— where I just stayed in Tokyo, and documented literally every single thing. I had this cheap digital video recorder, and I would spend my days walking and walking and walking, from sunrise to sunrise, taking in as much as I could — and that thirst was unquenchable. So I had to return. And return I did. Every year from 2005 to 2009. I was a Japanese Culture major student in college in Paris, learning the language and the way of life of old and modern Japan. This was already quite a fit : going from borrowing your best friend’s older brother’s “Learn Japanese in 40 lessons” (that I still have up until this day) in junior high school and cramming it for hours and hours, to graduating in Japanese Language and Civilization and being able to actually communicate in the language you loved back in your young’un years. I added marketing and communication (yeah I know…) to my skill set and even tried to find a job in Japan. Picture 24 year old me, cold calling ad agencies to get an appointment and not getting any, or just showing up with my A3 portfolio under my arms, that close to panic attack, asking to see someone without any appointment, all this in Japanese please! As you can imagine, it didn’t work out haha. But it was a very nice way to experience real life in Japan.
What was he thinking?
Puis j’ai essayé de revenir tous les ans ou tous les deux ans de 2012 à 2015, jusqu’à ce que Paris m’épuise tellement que je décide de tout quitter, et d’aller vivre au Japon, pour de bon cette fois ! Je suis resté un an et demi, principalement en voyage, que ce soit à Tokyo ou ses environs, ou en sac à dos de la capitale à la pointe sud de l’archipel, dans les îles paradisiaques d’Okinawa. Faire le tour des 5 lacs majeurs du mont Fuji et pouvoir assister au coucher du soleil à l’intérieur de son cratère, comme englouti par la montagne sacrée. Profiter du charme du Kansai, des innombrables temples de Kyoto à la nature enchanteresse de la campagne des préfectures de Mie, Wakayama et Nara. Avoir le cœur secoué à Hiroshima, essayer d’imaginer une seule seconde la cruauté de l’humanité et prier pour ne plus jamais le vivre.
Then off to the joys and cultural uniqueness of Kyushu, the street food galore in Fukuoka’s yatai (those small mobile food stalls), the bliss of stopping in too many onsen to count in Oita prefecture --despite my full Japanese bodysuit (the perks of speaking the language)! Trying to find a way amongst the aftermath of Kumamoto’s earthquake — collapsed bridges, houses gone. Continuing always south, to Kagoshima, almost the southernmost point of Kyushu, embarking on a boat to the Ghibli-esque Yakushima (the inspiration for Princess Mononoke) and its luxuriant nature. And finally more boats to Okinawa’s islands, the tropical beaches, forests, a complete change of Japanese scene —because yes, Okinawa is very much a part of Japan and Japanese culture.
These adventures are the ones I chose to tell throughout my photographs, and decided to share with the world. Being able to speak Japanese, exchange with the people there, the differences in culture —whether it is between mine or the different ones inside of Japan— all of this helped me better understand my surroundings, and tell stories as culturally relevant as possible. I want people to be carried away by enchantment and at the same time learn more about this culture that I’ve taken years to try to even grasp. I think, as a photographer and passionate about Japanese culture, this is the least I can do to spread this knowledge and passion to others. This is the achievement of many years of dedication to this culture —a part of me that I lay bare for everyone to see— and my only hope is that when you look at one of my photographs, you feel the emotions of all these moments and let your mind wander away, telling a story of your own.
Si vous êtes un collectionneur d’art, vous êtes au bon endroit. Tous les tirages disponibles de ma collection sont en édition limitée à 30 exemplaires (ou moins si mentionné), numérotés, signés et livrés avec un certificat d’authenticité. Vous pouvez également me contacter pour des commandes plus exclusives – telles que des formats plus grands, des
Les tirages « fine art » s’opposent aux tirages « standards », « photographiques » ou « poster », et nécessitent de multiples éléments pour être considérés comme tels : La combinaison des matériaux et de l’impression à l’aide d’une imprimante professionnelle produit des tirages résistants à la décoloration et durables. Les impressions ne jaunissent
S’il y a bien une chose sur laquelle nous pouvons tous nous accorder, c’est que le Japon est un pays unique, à bien des égards. Du plus riche des raffinements de sa culture à l’infinie beauté de sa nature et de ses paysages, nul besoin d’invoquer ni “tradition” ni “modernité”. Il n’est pas étonnant que
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