A scorching August day. A quiet lakeside. What transpired there between photographer and model was a pure human exchange mediated by photography. The photographer, accustomed to countless encounters with celebrities and models, found himself moved by Marianna not for her fresh, translucent beauty, but for something else entirely.
Beyond origins, age, or gender, there are instances where one person's essence profoundly moves another. This connection defies labels — it's not family, friend, or lover. It's an ineffable "dialogue" that photography seemed destined to enable on that particular day, in that specific place.

From the photographer's words in the photobook "Marianna": "Why, on a certain day in a certain year, am I with someone named Marianna by a lake in Yamanashi? It struck me as mysterious, how people meet and share time and space. Will this one day remain as a memory in my heart?"

Some photographers can catch something like the flow of the air. As if called, the treetops sway, and the water's surface gleams more brightly. Their interaction spreads to the surroundings, and echoes of response reverberate. And the images fixed eventually return to the photographer and model. Seasons have passed since that summer day of the shoot, and another summer is almost upon them. Carrying the memory of their shared time, the photographer took some pictures of flowers.

What does that summer day, fixed in photographs, connect with and resonate with in the heart? Humans always gaze upon their days, tracing their memories.

A Note on Motohiko Hasui's Photobook 'Marianna'
Shuichi Iketani（Photo Editor）