About

Born in Japan, raised in California,

I was always trying my best to find where I belong. Fluency in Japanese was a gift and a curse. In Japan I felt dissonant and questioned its rigid structure. Yet in America I was surely Japanese, clinging on desperately to my language and culture. Photography helped me realize that I don't need to be either. My photography reflects my fluid identity, reading the room and mood with my Japanese collectivist nature, while expressing myself distinctly with the American individualist ideology.

Current projects from the ADD improvement junkie

For my fellow ADD peeps, I'm sure the title is enough for you to understand the struggles and rewards that comes with our type of brain. I am driven by the constant need for improvement, and sometimes I feel like I'll die if I stop moving forward, much like a shark (yes, sharks die if they stop moving ).

Of course, the only logical choice then, is to overwhelm myself with multiple projects at once. My current projects include:

  • Kokoprints - my print shop

  • Youtube - a compilation of all my projects

  • Kendo - a Japanese martial art

  • Coffee and Latte art - because photography wasn't expensive enough

  • Graduate degree - learning is too much fun and being in debt is in fashion


What is it all for?

To be happy. My father died in 2020 at the age of 57, and I genuinely believe he was happy. At the time I was in a very unsatisfied place in my life, and that incident suddenly gave me a sense of urgency. Assuming I have the same amount of time as my father (a truly baseless assumption), will I be where I want to be and who I want to be? Hours of pondering this led me to my current philosophy of happiness, which would be far too long to put in a introduction page on a website. Put simply, my happiness is found in the journey of trying to achieve my goals, whether that be career, hobby, relationship, or intrapersonal goals.

"Dad, how do you do it? Go to work every day and repeat the same things. Don't you get tired of it all?"

"Of course it gets tough. But I'm still happy. At the end of the day, this is the path I chose."