Jibun Janai Hito (Not Myself) Masafumi Sanai

This photo book was published in 1999 by Japanese photographer Masafumi Sanai.

Masafumi Sanai moved to Tokyo in his late twenties from Shizuoka Prefecture, where he was born and raised, with the aim of becoming a photographer. He learned photography on his own, going out with a camera that had no film in it and focusing on various objects through the viewfinder.

Initially, he only shot in black and white, but after showing his portfolio of black and white photos to various people, he received feedback that they were "suffocating to look at." In response, he decided to switch to shooting with color film, as he felt that photos that hurt people were not desirable.

In 1997, he made his debut with his first photo book, "Ikiteiru."

Initial sales were slow, but as photo books in large format, the size of record jackets, were quite rare at the time, they attracted magazine coverage and gradually gained popularity, especially among young people.

This book is a collection of works that Sanai took on Polaroid film while driving around various places in his car over a period of about three months in the 1990s, before the publication of "Ikiru."

The dreamy images, created by being out of focus or underexposed before sunset, seem to revive the viewer's relegated memories.

This book is unique in that it has a unique page layout with narrow, long pages, large margins, and decimal points lined up.