ZEN FOTO GALLERY

I have little to add to Hashimoto's own words that he has expressed so clearly and elegantly.

At first the thought of time's relentless march may seem sad. Our time on earth is so short. If love is the most important part of our existence, yet all loves will fade in time and be forgotten. Yet these moments of now that are continually being destroyed, that can never be captured even by the camera's shutter, can be truly alive and thrilling.

Looking at Hashimoto's photographs does not make me feel sad. What I feel is the beauty that is always present, ethereal, thrilling. The beauty that brings a lump to my throat like those moments from Rachmaninov's Second Symphony or Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. Moments that contain enough joy to fill all time.

“Nagori”: remains; traces; vestiges; relics (Japanese)