From Kaiyukan and the Santa Maria, Accompanied by Toru Takemitsu’s “Dance of the Waves”
On July 13, 2025, blue skies finally returned to Osaka Harbor after days of hazardous PM2.5 haze. Accompanied by Takemitsu’s orchestral masterpiece, this photo essay captures the moment of clarity and the photographer’s journey through summer’s shifting air.
On July 13, 2025, Osaka Harbor as seen from the Kaiyukan and the Santa Maria, accompanied by Toru Takemitsu’s ‘Dance of the Waves for Orchestra.’
On July 5, 2025, Japan was sunny but shrouded in PM2.5.
It was at a level harmful to health.
That condition persisted until I returned to Lake Kawaguchi on July 7 and 8 to photograph Mount Fuji once again.
On July 10, Japan finally broke free from the onslaught of PM2.5.
True, clear summer blue skies arrived.
It was also the perfect weather for photography.
Today, I went to retake shots of Osaka Harbor.
I left home just after 10:10.
I transferred on the subway and miraculously made it in time for the 11:00 departure.
The biggest reason old media never writes a word about such severe PM2.5 is their deference to China, a truly pathetic media posture.
Perhaps that frustration led me to choose this music as the backdrop for today’s photo collection.
Even elementary school students understand that appointing incompetent and foolish individuals as prime minister can only inflict the greatest damage on national interests.
Yet Japanese old media and the ‘Z’ behavior that Yoichi Takahashi points out offer not a single word of criticism about that foolishness and incompetence.
This is truly agonizing for anyone with genuine intelligence.
For those who love Japan, who love Japan dearly, there could be no greater agony.