The Shonai Peninsula in Kagawa Prefecture. I first visited this area in the summer of 2003. At the time, I was traveling to various lighthouses and ended up at Nirohama Beach on the Shonai Peninsula. The Shonai Peninsula is said to be the birthplace of Urashima Taro, a famous Japanese fairy tale character. It's said that Nirohama Beach is where Taro spent the rest of his life after becoming an old man. To reach the lighthouse on the Shonai Peninsula, a path leads from Nirohama Beach, and from there, it's a 40-minute walk along a forest path. Returning exhausted from my visit to the lighthouse under the scorching summer sun, a man living in Nirohama invited me to his home for lunch. His family was gathered in the living room, and I noticed his newborn grandchild. I took a family photo as a token of my appreciation, and after my trip, I sent him a thank-you letter along with the photo. This marked the beginning of our correspondence. His letters described the growth of his children, the state of the fields and the sea, the boats setting out early in the morning for fishing, the scenery and flowers of each season, and the tranquil daily life of the Seto Inland Sea. Every time a letter arrived, I imagined the scenery of the Shonai Peninsula and enjoyed the quiet time that flowed there. By exchanging letters several times a year, we slowly came to understand each other, and before we knew it, we had begun to feel a warmth like family. Eight years later, in the summer of 2011, I headed to Nirohama again.

The photos were taken in 2011, when we first met after eight years, and again six years later, when I visited in 2017. Seeing the children grow up and the village scenery unchanged, I had the illusion of being back in time, as if time hadn't passed.

This photograph is a record of a short period of time over many years that began with an encounter with a warm family in Nirohama.