I grew up in a small town in the countryside of northeastern Japan, where few lights lit the streets and on moonless nights a deep darkness made me afraid of the falling night. In winter the snow blanketed the earth and turned the town into a white world that felt like another realm. Sometimes my field of vision is taken away, covered by a great white veil so that I can see nothing but myself, and I wander wondering whether this is the real world or one I am imagining in my heart. Focusing my mind I hear sounds of breathing of various kinds, and as I photograph in response the emotional baggage in my mind gradually falls away.