Kawashima Kotori‘s photobook “Mirai-chan” is an extraordinary work. It has gained love and success on a global scale and can be considered as a work that “represents Japan” in recent years. This fascinating creation has also received significant affection within Japan.
Therefore, from a cultural perspective, this is not a matter of an “external viewpoint” or an “internal viewpoint”, but rather, what constitutes a “contemporary perspective”, and the answer remains profoundly Japanese:
Japan has a long-standing “doll culture” with many traditional dolls, including the widely prevalent young girl dolls. In Japan’s modern and contemporary art, doll culture continues to develop in diverse and rich forms. For example, Yoshitomo Nara. “Mirai-chan” appears to be a representative work in this category, interpreting the traditional doll culture through contemporary photography.
In the Japanese context, there are also connections between urban and rural areas, and the imagination of simplicity and nature. Therefore, this work has a high probability of maintaining long-term popularity and might even enter the hall of “classics.”
Yes, I also love it very much.
