● Mr.Yonehara is very famous in Taipei, featuring in popular magazines "Hi magazine" and "1NCOMING"

ab：What’s the message you want to convey through your work?

Yonehara: Tokyo girls are cute and they’re real, and I want people to see that cuteness and realness about them. I myself am a little afraid of anything that’s not Japanese or at least Asian. It doesn’t matter how many white people come to Japan, it’s just a bit too much for me (lol). If it’s photography, people who understand the view of white people should be taking the photos as they’re the ones who’ll be able to better capture various nuances. I, on the other hand, understand Japanese and Asians, so I’m better suited to photographing them. I think that’s an important thing to show the reader and if you look at my work I think you’ll understand what I mean. If I go to Taiwan I take photos of Taiwanese girls, if I go to Korea I take photos of Korean girls, but what I don’t understand is taking photos of foreigners in Japan. Ultimately it’s just perpetuating the inferiority complex that Japanese people have towards foreigners. We’re basically telling our children we’re inferior to foreign people. Instead, we should be telling our children, “go and see the world for yourself.” Japanese girls are popular the world over right now, so they really need to be more confident in themselves. Whether it’s sports or pottery, there are so many Japanese acknowledged throughout the world now but there are still so many people in Japan who don’t have a clue. I’m sure the media has something to do with this also, but I feel like we’re gradually becoming worse and worse off and just being made to buy things.

ab：Do you feel the same about the rest of Asia?

Yonehara: Taiwanese, for example, really love Japan, which I’m grateful for. But what I also hear from them is how they’re interested in our history and our culture but they feel that Japanese people today have forgotten who they are. They think that we’re always looking-up to other countries, wanting to be like other countries, and the Taiwanese people don’t want us to be that way. People need to find out for themselves what’s going on in the outside world and start to get more involved with their own country.

ab：And finally, is there anything you would like to say to the Asian youth out there?

Yonehara：I think people need to work harder on expressing their own ideas and opinions to others. I achieved this through my photography, but that could also take many forms – it doesn’t necessarily have to be a product of some kind. Being young means you have the ability to take on challenges unrestrained. Forget about society’s norms and just get out there and challenge yourself. Go ahead, see if you can do a better job than a 50 year old like me.

(2010.10.29 / Re-released 2012.4.12)

Tweet
Follow @asianbeat_en