Towards the Light Beyond the Ripples | Photographer Koki Manju | ISSUE #24

During his university days, Koki Manju was deeply involved in athletics and lived a life unrelated to photography. His only connection to photography was his parents' DSLR camera, which captured his running.

However, in his third year of university, an unexpected injury prevented him from running, sparking his interest in cameras. "If it weren't for the injury, I might still be an athlete," he says. What started as a hobby gradually ignited his passion, and in his fourth year, he began his journey as a photographer through Lovegraph.

Although Koki Manju achieved success in athletics, he secretly wanted to broaden his horizons beyond running. After quitting athletics, his interests expanded beyond sports to include travel, coffee brewing, and selecting pottery. Among these, his approach to photography was unique. When taking photos, he could be his true self. The moment he pressed the shutter, his imagined image took shape, enabling communication with others through photography. He reflects, "The camera is like the wind, capturing daily life, travel, and individual lifestyles wherever it goes, and I became fascinated with this allure."

In May 2020, during his fourth year of university, Koki Manju began aspiring to become a professional photographer. However, the world was facing the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an uncertain future. During this time, he encountered the café belk in Kojima, Okayama, through a barista friend with whom he would later co-host the photo exhibition 'Ripple'. At that time, was hosting an exhibition called 'belk Maboroshi', featuring performances and streaming by musician Hideyuki Hashimoto on a scenic stage overlooking the Seto Inland Sea during the COVID closure period.

"I felt a thrill like a lightning bolt," Koki Manju recalls. This unprecedented event introduced him to artists who shone gentle light during a time of global despair, providing unforgettable inspiration even through a screen.

Drawn to the unforgettable, dreamlike beauty of the light, Koki Manju later visited Okayama and began a path leading to his current creative activities. Eventually, he encountered the miracle of hosting a photo exhibition at alongside Hideyuki Hashimoto's performance.

In 2021, captivated by Hideyuki Hashimoto's enchanting performance, Koki Manju visited Okayama without a specific purpose. While watching the sunrise at Kojima's Oji-ga-take, he was called by a familiar voice. The voice belonged to the barista friend who had introduced him to . Their serendipitous reunion felt fateful, leading Koki Manju to decide to move to Okayama. In December of the same year, he compared this encounter to a ripple and held a photo exhibition titled 'Ripple'. This exhibition took place at , where they had first met, and invited musician Hideyuki Hashimoto.

Like ripples spreading across the sea, the photo exhibition 'Ripple' brought new encounters to Koki Manju. A director who happened to visit the exhibition expressed a desire to see 'Beyond the Ripple', leading to the creation of the photo book 'Beyond the Ripple'. This book includes live performances by Hideyuki Hashimoto recorded during the exhibition, weaving a miraculous story through sound and photography.

Currently, Koki Manju's main focus is on the photo unit with photographer Kento Hirasue and travels with musician Haruka Nakamura. He is engaged in expressive activities themed around the richness of life and music through photography. Although there is no sense of reality, there is a sense of presence and a dreamlike warmth, and Koki Manju wishes to continue interacting with such a world.

Recently, Koki Manju and musician Saki Matsuo released the first single of their music and photography unit hinata, attracting attention. This piece is a piano composition inspired by photography, aiming for a unique expression that fuses music and photography. "We want to express the warm light like sunshine through music and photography," he says.

This album is an experiment to express the inspiration from Koki Manju's sensibilities as a photographer through music. "Music has wavelengths as a means of expressing emotions, different from photography. Therefore, it can express emotions that cannot be captured by photography," he believes.

The warmth of Koki Manju's gentle light is conveyed through his photographs. When touching on the musical sensibilities he cherishes, I was prompted to ask what richness means to him during the interview.

In response to the question, "What is richness?", Koki Manju states, "Richness is understanding and loving the light and shadow of things." He aims for a balanced life by giving back to his surroundings through self-expression. "Expressing is a confrontation with oneself, and being able to convey something to others through that expression is richness for me," he says. He seems to enjoy challenging various forms of expression, not just photography, with a flexible attitude.

We eagerly await what beautiful light Koki Manju's next step will show us.