Tracks of Time – Kyoto, A Journey Through Memories

In 1976, as a 15-year-old, I traveled to Kyoto with my first personal camera, a PENTAX KX. Capturing scenes of the city’s streets, the timeless serenity of its temples, and the powerful rhythms of steam locomotives at Umekoji, I preserved impressions of a moment in time. Nearly 50 years later, these photographs, rediscovered in old negatives, rekindled vivid memories and inspired a new journey. Equipped with the same PENTAX KX, lovingly restored, I returned to Kyoto to photograph the same places from nearly identical angles, seeking to explore the interplay of past and present.

This exhibition pairs the photographs taken in 1976 with those taken in 2025, offering a visual dialogue between the two eras. These image pairs, numbering over a dozen, reveal what has changed over the decades and what has remained timeless.

Moreover, this exhibition delves deeper into the theme of “continuity in time.” Beyond the past and present, it evokes an even earlier era, imagining the days when steam locomotives were in active service or when Kyoto’s iconic temples were newly built. The still-operational steam locomotives preserved at Umekoji serve as powerful symbols of this temporal connection, bridging history and the present.

This exhibition is not merely an exercise in nostalgia. Through these photographs, I hope to inspire reflection on what we have inherited from the past and what we might pass on to the future. It invites you to contemplate the threads of time that shape our world, allowing each viewer to find their own connections between the evolving landscapes and enduring moments captured within these images.