YEMEN'S PHOTOGRAPH イエメン表紙 of 写真家 平寿夫公式ホームページ photographer taira hisao

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写真集『イエメンの肖像』序文より。

 アラビア半島の南端に有るイエメンには独特の文化が
根付いている。
そこを旅するものはその迫力に圧倒される。
私も、何故か追われる様にその地を旅していた。
 「私を威圧しているものは何であろうか。」
 「何が追って来ているのだろうか。」
私は、そう考えながら旅を続け、彼らの写真を写していた。
 彼らを写す時にファインダーの中で時間が止まった様に
感じる事が有った。
それはあたかも時間が彼らの澄み渡った瞳に吸い寄せられ
ているようでもあった。
 私を追って来たのは止められた時間だったのか。
 私は止められた瞬間とその瞳の先を探し求めて彼らの地
を旅していたのだ。
その、彼らの瞳の先に見えているものを求めて写真を写し
続けてきていたのだ。

その瞳の先に有るもの、何時私の前に現れるのであろうか。


Preface from my photo book "Portraits from Yemen" ""Seeing Beyond the Eyes""
Situated on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen has a unique and deeply rooted culture.
Travelers feel overwhelmed by its power and I, too, traveled that land feeling somehow driven.
メWhat is the force driving me? Whatユs leading me forward?モ
These questions were constantly in my head as I traveled around the country taking photos.
When photographing Yemenis, I sometimes looked through my viewfinder and felt time had stopped.
It was as if the clear depths of their eyes was absorbing all sense of time.
Could it be this sense of suspended time that was overpoweringly drawing me in?
I traveled their land seeking out moments suspended in time and whatever lay hidden beyond those eyes.
I took more and more photos in a quest for something I was on the edge of perceiving behind their gaze.

Whatever is beyond their eyes, will it someday be revealed to me?




写真集『イエメンの肖像』のあとがきより。

ラマダンとは知らず初めて訪れたイエメンは非常に厳しいものであった。昼食どころか飲み水にも事欠き、郷にいれば郷にしたがえ、と言う事の厳しさを思い知らされた。また彼等独特の風土価値観に私自身翻弄されてしまい、その本質を満足に見いだせるものではなかった。
 しかし彼等の事、イスラームを学び理解を深める程に彼等に少しずつ近づいていけるよう思われた。それは、彼等が冠っていた仮面を外すかのようでもあり、私が近づく以上に、彼等も私の方に歩み寄って来ているように感じられた。
彼等の風土の中に入る事が許され、その時、私の前で澄み渡った瞳を見せる事になったのであろうか。いや、私がそれに気が付いただけなのかもしれない。
撮影の時に私に一瞬見せるように感じた彼等の瞳に映るもの、それを探す私の旅が始まったのだ。荒野を走る車の中から、フロントウインドーの先に見える道が蜃気楼になって消える時、私が探しているものは、その先に有るのであろうか。
 私がイエメンに関心を持ったのは詩人アルチュール・ランボーがアデンに滞在していた事からであった。詩人を捨て商人として生きた彼の人生には興味が有ったものの、その地がアデン・イエメンで有った事が今回の興味をひいた始まりだった。詩人から商人へ、彼が旅した人生の中で、イエメンは通過点で有ったのかもしれないが、彼の滞在した地は、彼を引き付ける何かがあったのであろう。
今、その地イエメンは私を魅了してやまない。



My message from my photobook "Portraits from Yemen" ""Seeing Beyond the Eyes""

Not knowing what Ramadan was, my first visit to Yemen was extremely hard. Unable to get any lunch, or even water to drink, I discovered how tough it could be to follow the maxim メWhen in Rome, do as the Romans do.モ Worse still, I was constantly wrong-footed by the customs and way of thinking of the Yemeni people, and was not able to fully understand the country.
But it seems that the more we study Islam and deepen our understanding, the closer we can come to the people. To me they seemed to be taking off masks, and even more than my approaches to them, I felt them coming closer to me. I was admitted to their culture, and it was perhaps only then that they revealed to me that wonderful clarity in their eyes. Or maybe I simply noticed it myself.
I felt there was so much behind the eyes briefly directed towards me as I took photographs, and thus my journey of discovery began. Traveling by car across the rough landscape, the road I could see up ahead would disappear into a mirage. I felt as though what I was seeking lay beyond.
I became interested in Yemen because the poet Arthur Rimbaud once lived in Aden. He had given up poetry and was living as a merchant. This in itself was fascinating, but it was the fact that it happened in Aden, Yemen, that began to pique my curiosity. Switching from poetry to commerceノ Yemen may have been only a staging post in Rimbaudユs journey through life, but something must have attracted him to stay a while. And now I too have fallen under Yemen’s spell.


2013年3月18日号の、イエメン英字新聞ナショナルイエメン紙に、私と作品が紹介して頂きました。

以下原文。

Hisao Taira: Pictures Of Yemen Inspire Deep To The People Of Japan

“Will what is behind their eyes ever be revealed to me?” Japanese photographer Hisao Taira wants to know. Taira, age 53, has visited Yemen and the Yemeni people 11 times over the years.

“I became interested in Yemen because the poet Arthur Rimbaud once lived in Aden. He had given up poetry and was living as a merchant. This in itself was fascinating, but it was the fact that it had happened in Aden, Yemen, that began to pique my curiosity. Switching from poetry to commerce in Yemen may have been only a staging post in Rimbaud’s journey through life, but something must have attracted him to stay a while. And now I too have fallen under Yemen’s spell,” Taira said.

An renown photographer, he had little exposure to photography until junior high. While his early childhood was spent building things and playing alone, photography came into his life when a fashion student was tasked with photographing the school. He was also asked to take a photo of a steam locomotive; Taira ended up taking the photos instead. He was drawn to photographing people and sceneries, and decided to study photography professionally. He enrolled in Osaka University for Arts.

After graduating from university, Taira found work at a printing company as a cameraman; he worked there for 12 years before deciding to give freelancing a chance. He has now been freelancing for 17 years, Taira said.

He has been heavily influenced by the Brazilian photographer, Sebastian Salgado. His photos have a strength to them that grab your attention.

While focusing his photos on people and nature, Taira says he’s particularly interested in photographing people whose faces are difficult to read.

Recounting his first visit to Yemen, Taira says he had a bit of a rough go. He visited during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when Muslims around the world pray from sunrise to sunset. At the time, he knew little about Yemeni culture or the Muslim faith, and didn’t anticipate being unable to get lunch or even drink water. He decided to follow the maxim, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Unfamilar and strange, Yemeni customs took a while for Taira to understand. He feels that he’s bridged that divide, however, and feels closer to the country and the people.

“It seems that the more we study Islam and deepen our understanding, the closer we can come to the people. To me they seemed to be taking off masks, and even more than my approaches to them, I felt them coming closer to me. I was admitted to their culture, and it was perhaps only then that they revealed to me that wonderful clarity in their eyes. Or maybe I simply noticed it myself.”

During his 11 visits to the country, he’s visited every region of the country except for the far eastern region. He most likes vibrant Old Sana’a, Shahara and Socotra Island, a dream for nature photography. Aside from his curiosity about Yemeni eyes and all they hide (and reveal), Taira says he really appreciates the kindness of the Yemeni people.

“I felt there was so much behind the eyes briefly directed towards me as I took photographs, and thus my journey of discovery began. Traveling by car across the rough landscape, the road I could see up ahead would disappear into a mirage. I felt as though what I was seeking lay beyond,” he added.

Taira says the Japanese find Yemen, as reflected in his photographs, inspire them deeply. They marvel at the uniqueness of Yemen and her culture, the full confidence of the Yemeni people.

“What is the force driving me? What’s leading me forward?” Taira asked. These are the questions constantly buzzing in his head. “When photographing Yemenis, I sometimes looked through my viewfinder and felt time had stopped. It was as if the lear depth of their eyes was absorbing all sense of time.”


ARABIA FELIX photogallery
Seeing Beyond the Eyes photogallery
The form of Socotra  photogallery
YEMEN CALENDER



イエメン共和国での主要取材地名
A main covering city name in republic of Yemen
北部=サーダ、シャハラ、アムラン、ハッジャ。
Northern part=Sada, Sahahara, Amran, Hajja
中央部=サナア、スーラ、コウカバン、マウィート、マナハ、ダマール、ラダー。
Center=Sana'a, Thula, Koukaban, Maweet, Manaha, Dahmarl, Rada
中央東部=マリブ、バラケシュ、シルワ、シャブワ。
The central eastern part=marib, baraquish, sirwah, shabwah.
東部=シバーム、セイユン、タリム、シーフ、ムッカラ。
Eastern part = shibam, sayun, tarim, sif. mukalla.
西部=モカ、ホーハ、ザビート、ホデイダ。
Western part= makha, khukhah, zabid, hudaydah
南部=イッブ、ジブラ、タイズ、アデン、トルバ。
Southern part = ibu, jibrah, taizz, aden, turlbah.
ソコトラ島=ホディーボ、イラセル、クゥランシア
Socotora = hadibo, calansiya, lrasel.