AWARDS

Born in Osaka in 1971. Drawn to the magnificent landscapes of Hokkaido as a student, he relocated to Biei Town in 2012 after years of visiting from Osaka. His interest in Hokkaido’s cultural substratum deepened a few years later, leading him to visit archaeological sites across the region and to imagine the historical landscapes once present there. Recent travels to coastal Hokkaido, Pakistan, and beyond have sharpened a critical perspective on the boundaries imposed by human ideologies, and he continues to seek answers in nature through his photography.

Following years of research and fieldwork, he has completed the Hokkaido Trilogy with New Land – Pre-Hokkaido Landscapes (Case Publishing, 2023), Land of Fusion (2024), and Where We Come From and Where We Might Go (2025). In 2025, he won the Sagamihara New Photographer Award for Land of Fusion, which is themed on Okhotsk culture.

His solo exhibitions include Kamuy at Canon Gallery S and Higashikawa Bunka Gallery (2020-2021), Land of Fusion at IG PHOTO GALLERY, PHOTO GALLERY FLOW NAGOYA, and Moerenuma Park Glass Pyramid (2023-2024); New Land – Pre-Hokkaido Landscapes at Canon Gallery Ginza (2024), at the Irie Taikichi Memorial Nara City Museum of Photography and Higashikawa Bunka Gallery (2024-2025), and Where We Come From and Where We Might Go at KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY (2025).

<Artist Statements>

What was I trying to photograph, traveling to Hokkaido as if possessed, and even going so far as to relocate there? At some point, this question began to surface within me.

As I traced the history through which the place called “Hokkaido” was formed—through the imposition of Wajin (mainland Japanese) history, and the development of farmland using American-style technologies—I came to feel a desire to know what this island was like before it was named “Hokkaido.”

Born in Osaka, I was educated within a framework centered on Yamato culture, and I cannot deny that I had unconsciously perceived this country from a Yamato-centric perspective. However, when I shifted my viewpoint to one from the north, my understanding of the world changed completely. At the same time, as I pursued the natural landscapes of Hokkaido, I came to realize that nature is interconnected through planetary-scale cycles.

In pursuing my own interests, I have now been honored with the Special Photographer Award. It feels as though I have been given a gentle push forward. I am once again deeply aware of the profound power of photographic expression—its ability to connect personal inquiry with society at large.

NAKANISHI Toshiki