Japanese actor Masatoshi Nagase, who developed a close affinity with Taiwan after playing a lead role in Taiwanese baseball film Kano, has returned to the nation, but his visit has nothing to do with shooting or promoting a film.
The 48-year-old actor and avid photographer is promoting a photography exhibition tour that showcases images he took in the country.
The tour is to start on Friday.
Photo: Sung Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
The 111 photographs that are to go on display in the Mind’s Mirror — Masatoshi Nagase Photography Works in Taiwan exhibition are a record of his feelings and impressions of the nation, Nagase said in Taipei on Monday.
Mostly shot in black-and-white, the photos capture street scenes and images of Nagase’s costars from Kano, in which he played a strict Japanese coach.
The 111 photos were selected from tens of thousands of photos that he took in Taiwan, the actor said.
He said his grandfather, who owned a photo shop in Japan before World War II, inspired his interest in photography.
To support his family after the war, his grandfather gave his camera to a friend in exchange for food, but the friend ran off with the camera and was never seen again, while his grandfather never picked up a camera again, Nagase said.
“I began taking photos because I wanted to continue what my grandfather loved to do,” he said. “I like taking black-and-white photos, because every time I do so, it feels like my grandfather is beside me.”
Nagase’s photographs are to be shown alongside the works of lyricist Albert Leung (林夕), artist Chiu Kuo-chun (邱國峻) and architect Ku Ta-chi (辜達齊).
The exhibition runs through June 7 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei; from June 12 to July 13 at Ham Gallery at Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Art Center; from July 10 to July 26 at Hsinchu City Art Gallery; and from July 17 to Aug. 30 at Mayor’s House in Taichung.
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