These photographs traced the memory of a journey that spanned eight years. Published as a photo book in Japan in 2012, the theme of this series is “the other side of the mountain”, a dream of the outside world that I had when I was younger.
The title, “da.gashita”, comes from my hometown dialect, and stands for “Oh I see…”, which is used when making a casual nod of agreement.

It’s been a long time since I left my hometown, but I realized that neither the scenery of the thick and heavy clouds that covered the winter sky nor the feeling of treading on a snowfield could be something I could easily forget. These things stayed with me and served as a memory of my childhood. This journey started out as a way to record the place where I was born, but as I continued to take more photographs, it eventually evolved into a quest to find the indelible scenery that defined my childhood.



Satoru Watanabe is a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan.
To view more of Satoru Watanabe's work, please visit his website.