For me, this has to be the most interesting and fun post that I’ve written as part of the Salon. An inflection point towards what we’re working towards here.

Today we’re going to talk about a body of work that Taisuke Sato has been working on for the last few years.

Keep in mind this is all still a work in progress and I pieced this post together based on conversations.

I want this to help you realize how projects can come together, how different layers can reveal themselves over time, and I want to help us all understand more about what Taisuke has been photographing so we can give him our perspectives in the future as he shares more of his progress.

And I also want to talk about my process as a viewer of Taisuke’s progress.

It can be difficult to talk about individual photographs in the stream, and even more so if you feel like more of a beginner photographer. 

But everyone can talk about a project like this. We’re people with different viewpoints, backgrounds, interests, and a common love of visual storytelling. What better place than here to talk conceptually about a project, what we like, or what we would like to see or be improved?

And I hope we’re able to extend this to others as we build relationships and understanding here.

Taisuke has been building a fascinating and gorgeous project with the working title Eudaimonics, which means a theory of happiness.

“The theme of the work is happiness theory, but I am not sure if this is the right word. I feel that there may be a more appropriate word throughout, but I am not sure what it is.

This is the story of my depression-escape, in which I arrived at my view of impermanence by taking a step back and quietly reexamining the causes of my difficulty in living in Japanese society.”

There is a clear vision here from the photographs. I don’t see someone who’s happy, yet, but I see someone who is searching for happiness. Someone who’s in the process of developing his own theory of happiness. The photos have solemn and lonely undertones to them, but also with a zeal for life.

I’ve been enamored with Taisuke’s work from the start and I know many of you have too. I’ve heard feedback about that from others.

Looking at his project over time, it felt like maybe it was on the way to being finished. He had a gorgeous gallery show from it. It was cohesive. But at the same time, something also felt missing from it. Something big.

It still felt like it was scratching the surface.

Taisuke told me more about his past. The photos made me want to delve deeper, and keep in mind this has been over the course of a couple years. Time is important, because it’s hard to help someone until you’re able to take the time to get to know them and their work well.

At the same time, he went to a review show to share his work with reviewers in France. And one comment from him stood out to me:

“The work refers to Japan’s distinctive national character and society. The reviewers did not seem to be very familiar with it. Therefore, it was very difficult for them to understand the intent of the photos.”

This comment made it clearer that he needed to focus on this. This whole time he was trying to search for happiness within Japanese society, but he was also shielding himself (and us) from his past. 

And it’s important to deal with that past both from a therapy perspective, and also to lay the groundwork for viewers to better understand him and his viewpoints.

So we brainstormed and made a list. Larry Felton, who until retiring recently, ran a semiconductor company in Japan, had a lot of insight into Japanese culture and working culture, and from an American perspective, and this has provided invaluable insight.

Taisuke created a map of inspirations and ideas (click to see in new window). And the goal is to capture those ideas and then he can try to figure out how to put it all together. 

Whether this ends up as one or two projects, who knows!? On one hand, you want to finish a project, maybe work to get it published. But on the other hand, it’s really exciting when it takes on new life and allows you to create more. To keep photographing.

We also talked about combining old photos into the project and old letters. For the rest of this post, I’m going to share more of his work and his quotes.

After you read all of this, look back at the earlier photos and see if they hold new meaning for you.

And I think an interesting goal is for him to try and replace some of these insightful and powerful quotes with photographs.

Please comment any thoughts that you might have, and I also hope this post will give him more encouragement to share his work that he continues to create for the project, and that it gives us more understanding to advise him.

“I never wanted to remember the look on my mother’s face when I disappointed her, because I was absolutely determined to satisfy her with tests and grade rankings. My mother’s anger lasted for a long time.

However, as a young man, I lived up to her expectations. I graduated from a famous university, got a job at a big company, and got married at the age of 25. All this seemed to satisfy my mother. I was sadly embarrassed because my mother was so pleased with her accomplishments and was giving lectures on parenting theory.

I think I was behaving in a way that exceeded the expectations of those around me, as a mother’s ideal, as a company employee, as a husband, as a father, and I was wearing a different personality than my true self.

And now that I have freed myself of that, I think I feel a small happiness every day.”

“We got married in 1995. I was 25 and she was 24. At that time, I think it was still the case that many married women became housewives.

Girls were studying domestic science in order to become housewives. It was common for women to leave the workforce after marriage.”

“Salespeople who made a lot of sales had a high income, and wearing brand-name products was a sign of status. When I was a company employee, I was in the value system of owning a big house, two luxury cars, and brand-name suits, bags, and watches. To wear such status in terms of these things was to maintain an admired presence among my subordinates and clients, and this satisfied my narcissism as a salesman.”

“Working in housing sales was my pleasure because I could directly see the satisfaction of the customers and they were very grateful. However, since I had a very large workload, I was always working long hours and returning from holidays. 

As for the work environment, when selling homes, teams of about 5 people would be formed, and since I was 30, I was the manager, so I enjoyed working as a playing manager, which was fulfilling in many ways. I liked working in housing. In making proposals, I listened to my clients very carefully and thought deeply about what kind of housing they wanted. The only custom-built house that came out of this process exceeded the client’s imagination and I was able to get more contracts than the average salesperson. I was also very happy with my subordinates’ advice on their work when it worked out. 

However, my bosses, the branch managers, changed every three years, and it was very difficult to make a discovery for them. Whether it was fun or hard depended on them. 

Some bosses used my abilities to their advantage, while others intimidated and pressured me into doing things the old way. In those cases, I was stressed out by a lot of unreasonableness. However, during this period, I was quite familiar with my work, so I was relieved when I got contracts, and on the other hand, it was hard when I did not.”

“As for my family, I had a hard-working environment before I got married, and my wife understood that that was the way it was. This was generally the case, not just at my company.”

“As my children grew older, my presence in the home became less and less, and I began to feel lonely at home.”

Letter 1

Dear Dad 

Thank you for working hard, getting lots of money, and making our family happy. 

Although dad and I don’t spend as much time together as my mom, brother, and friends do, I love you for always working so hard. 

Happy Birthday! 

Please take care of us from now on. 

From Eisuke

Letter 2

Dear Dad 

Thank you for always working hard until late at night to get the money and sharing it with us all. 

The thing that made me happiest was when you gave me foreign money. 

When I saw it for the first time, I thought it was amazing. 

Keep up the good work. 

Kyosuke Sato

Letter 3

Dear Dad 

Thank you for always working hard at your job, etc. 

Kyosuke 

Thank you for always working hard to provide for our family. 

Eisuke

Letter 4

Dear Dad 

I beat Mr. Deluxe twice. 

From Kyosuke. 

“Yay!” 

That’s awesome! 

Dad

“I had been working for the same company since I was 22 years old. At that time, the “Japanese management system” of hiring new graduates, lifetime employment, and seniority was the norm, and life planning was based on this system. Changing jobs meant a career downgrade in Japan.

Therefore, employees who participated in the competition within the company never showed any weakness, but always continued to hone their leadership qualities and strive to improve their own and their team’s performance. When they fail to do so, their pride will not allow them to be removed as leaders, and they must be prepared to remain as miserable employees, such as being subordinates to junior staff. (This is one of the characteristics of Japan, but there is a strong sense of seniority, and having the ages of supervisors and subordinates reversed creates suffering for both sides.)

For this reason, I was very afraid of dropping out due to illness.

Work changed my personality. I think we are all human beings.

I played the ideal office worker, always smiling, quick to deal with any situation, able to read the customer’s mind, very kind, full of ideas, tenacious and patient, etc. By the time I was 40, I realized the disconnect with my true personality and character, and I could no longer remember my true self. 

At the age of 45, I began to have heart palpitations when I went home, and after living in a hotel, I separated from my family.

The reason for the divorce was that I felt lonely at home and the main reason was my illness. 

My wife was a housewife, so I was left to take care of the housework and the children. I had never been to any of the children’s sports events.

Japanese couples do not say things like “I love you” to each other. I felt that I was unloved and that I was someone who existed for money for my family, as described in the letters from my children. I believe this is another assumption due to my illness.

Then at the age of 47, during a meeting with a client, I could not stop crying and had to take a leave of absence from the company. It lasted a year and a half.”

I was constantly haunted by hatred and self-pity, doubts and fears about things that seemed trivial, taking things and people’s words and actions in a bad light, or in technical terms, cognitive distortions.

I willingly reported to the company that I was depressed. The company decided to take me on a leave of absence immediately to manage the crisis. And after that, contrary to my thoughts, I got worse and worse after the leave of absence.

If I hadn’t gotten sick, I probably wouldn’t have gotten divorced and I wouldn’t have quit my job.”

Yearly hospital records for 2018

Medical Certificate

Name of disease  

Bipolar Affective Disorder 

Additional Notes  

Due to the above illness, the patient will continue to require outpatient treatment. 

He is in a condition that makes it difficult for him to work. 

I hereby diagnose as above. 

February 13, 2020 

Mr. Taisuke Sato 

Information on Procedures, etc. upon Retirement

On the occasion of your retirement, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for your long years of service to our company. 

Please read the following information carefully, and please confirm and follow the attached procedures. 

If you have any questions, please contact the department in charge. 

January 2020 

General Manager, General Affairs Dept.

“I ran away from everything. I dyed my hair blonde. I went abroad. Studied photography and art. I entered a photo exhibition. I entered competitions.

I moved to an old wooden row house, 60 years old, with no bathroom, but I felt I had to dare to start in such a place.

One day I realized that the migraine headache that had haunted the left back of my head for years had died. My head was clear.

I was cured. My whole body was filled with joy. I called my sons and felt relieved that I could put an end to the guilt I felt for destroying my family and that this was probably for the best.

Japanese society has been engulfed in a vortex of deflation during the ‘lost 20 years.’ It has become increasingly lonely and isolated, especially in urban areas.

The fact that Japan is becoming a society that embraces diversity, but only on the surface.

But it was also an escape from the society to which I had belonged.

The fact that one can decide one’s own life. That it is possible even from the age of 50.“

A Couple Questions For You:

No need to answer these specifically in a comment, but if you have thoughts on these, let us know!

1. How do you think the old photos might best fit in? Combined together, as more of an introduction, as two different projects, not used at all? What did they do for your perception of the body of work?

2. From reading all of this, are there any types of photos you would like to see? Is there something specific he wrote about that you’d like to see him photograph? More of something? Less of something?

3. Anything else?