Spring in Nemuro, Eastern Hokkaido Sachiko Kadoi

The photobook Spring, That Spring by photographer Sachiko Kadoi is set in the eastern Hokkaido region, where signs of spring are finally beginning to emerge from the lingering snow after a long, harsh winter.

What the viewfinder captures in this work is not a typical, spectacular landscape that everyone would immediately marvel at. Instead, it focuses on modest "fragments of nature" that are often overlooked in our daily lives—such as dead grass quietly revealing itself as the snow melts, or trees silently decaying in the wetlands. However, within these landscapes at our feet, observed through the author's earnest gaze, a deeply concentrated, rich time is firmly etched—the enduring workings of nature and the cycle of life and death repeated in a severe climate.

It showcases a powerful sprouting of life dwelling in silence, quite distinct from the vibrant, colorful arrival of spring we often imagine. With every turn of the page, this photobook vividly conveys the cold, clear air of the northern land and the quiet heartbeat of nature secretly awakening.