Shinkiro

We had long hoped to work with photographer Yoshikazu Aizawa, who had previously contributed to the BadSeed zine project founded by Alessandra Pace.

His blend of rawness and elegance, his distinct Japanese sensitivity to light, and his way of working with model Nao Tokiwa immediately convinced us. With the support of Roberto Pesci, a long-time collaborator based in Tōkyō, we began developing an exclusive and previously unpublished project with Aizawa, eventually receiving access to one of his rolls dedicated to Nao—direct, striking images that merge with their surroundings and move beyond conventional portrait photography.

Alessandra Pace, Jacopo Buranelli, and Giuliano Manselli reviewed the roll knowing nothing about Nao, relying solely on Aizawa’s work and their own aesthetic instinct.

We connected the material to Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s 1927 short story Shinkirō (Mirage), a “plotless” text in which characters witness (or fail to witness) a mirage at Kugenuma Beach. The mirage—an unreal phenomenon that nonetheless shapes perception—serves as a metaphor for the differing ways each viewer encounters both reality and illusion.

Inspired by this idea, each chapter of the book presents the photographs through the eyes of a different editor, reflecting individual interpretations of Aizawa’s images. We are grateful to Aizawa-sensei for his trust.