At age 62, Hiromi
Fujita decided to try something new and took up photography as a way to enjoy
her retirement years. Now the 75-year-old woman's photos of Japanese
landscapes and traditional art performers
have been displayed at exhibitions in France, Russia and Germany, among other
countries.
Last fall, she
published a collection of her work in a book titled “Osozaki Demo Hana wa
Saku,” (Flowers Will Bloom Even If They Are Late).
“There must be many
people who think they are too old to start something new,” Fujita says. “I
meant (the title of the book) to show that no matter how old you are when you
take up something, you will eventually be rewarded in your own way."
Fujita began to take
photography lessons a year after she retired from a publishing company
specializing in architecture. “I wanted to give it a try--try something
entirely new since I had worked all those years,” says Fujita, who raised two
children by herself. Her husband died while she was still a young mother.
The first photo she
is proud of, she says, is of a smiling scarecrow
in a rice paddy.
At the urging of her
photography teacher, she sent the photo to the Hamura municipal government in
Tokyo as a possible cover photo for the city bulletin, which officials were soliciting from the public. To her
surprise, it was selected as the cover photo.
Fujita soon found
herself immersed into photography
and shooting a wide range of objects, from flowers to mountains and
fireworks.
It was a photo of
stone statues of jizo, one of the
most popular Buddhist bodhisattvas in Japan, which led to her international
debut.
Mesmerized by her photos, an Italian paved the way for her
photographs to be put on display in an exhibition at the Vatican in 2006. Then
her photos were featured in a show in France in 2008, and Germany in 2009.
Although she shoots
a wide range of photos, she is particularly fond of capturing Noh and Kabuki
performers in rural districts.
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VOCABULARY
1.
Performers
(n) - an actor, musician etc who performs to entertain people
2.
Rewarded
(v) - to achieve something through hard work and effort
3.
Scarecrow
(n) - an object in the shape of a person that a farmer puts in a field to
frighten birds away
4.
Soliciting
(v) - to ask
5.
Immersed
(v) - to become completely involved in an activity
6.
Statue
(n) - an image of a person or animal that is made in solid material such as
stone or metal and is usually large
7.
Mesmerised(v)
- you cannot stop watching them or listening to them because they are so
attractive or have such a powerful effect [= captivate]
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1.
Do you like taking pictures? What kind of
pictures do you usually take?
2.
Do you agree with the saying that we are never
too old to learn?
3.
Were you inspired by this article? What would
you like to do when you retire?
4.
Do you think photography is a very expensive
hobby? Why? Why not?
5.
Name famous photographers in your country.
