On July 8, 2025, at Lake Kawaguchi, I captured Mount Fuji before sunrise and witnessed a historic scene of a cormorant devouring a giant fish.
Moments later, a swan appeared right before me, resulting in a miraculous photograph.
2025/07/08
This was my second shoot in a row.
The first photographs were taken of Mount Fuji at Lake Kawaguchi before sunrise. Then, at sunrise, I began walking toward the renowned Ōishi Park—known as the perfect place to capture the upside-down Fuji reflected in the lake, especially from nearby hotels.
Walking thirty minutes was beyond me this morning, so I tried Taxi GO. But it was too early; there were no drivers.
So I had no choice but to walk.
I took photos as I walked.
I had to reach Ōishi Park no matter what. But after crossing the bridge, I realized it was impossible and meaningless to continue. That decision, however, produced a miraculous photograph.
What is more, I later learned from a friend that today was the very day when Mr. Abe was assassinated, which made it even more poignant.
From my hotel room, my friend had been watching me. He called on his mobile to tell me that a swan was far behind me along the shore I had already passed.
I was indifferent to swans and gave only a halfhearted reply.
In Kyoto, everywhere, and even in Osaka’s Nakanoshima, I see cormorants all year round like a ritual.
But I had never before seen such a fierce scene as this morning.
It was the first time I saw a cormorant devour such a large fish. I had thought they only caught ayu.
After quite some time photographing this scene, a swan appeared before me—as if out of nowhere.
It had been following me all along and suddenly emerged right in front of me.
At that moment, I realized this was the only photograph for today’s collection.
And with that, the background music came to me instantly, like a lightning strike.
Just the other day, I had by chance watched footage of the Lausanne Ballet Competition on YouTube. That, too, connected directly to my choice of music for this collection.
I plan to write about all this later in my blog.
After spending over an hour on this shoot and returning to my room, I was utterly exhausted.
My friend remarked that because I did not save the great fish—which fought desperately but was eaten in vain—I was cursed by its spirit.
Since I had not picked up a stone from the riverbank and thrown it to save the fish, the spirit had cursed me.
I replied, “If I had done that, I would have been cursed by the cormorant instead.”