The KYUGORO project traces a personal journey of reconnection with my Japanese heritage, beginning with a childhood memory of distant relatives and evolving into a deeper exploration of family history, migration, and identity. Through researching Japanese family records, travelling to the U.S., and collecting archival materials, I recovered lost narratives fragmented by time, war, and displacement.
Along the way, I not only put together the story of Kyugoro, my great great uncle who emigrated to America at the turn of the 20th century, but also met relatives I had never known — including Lawson Inada, a renowned poet laureate, who later collaborated on a chapter of the project’s photo book. Our creative partnership became a powerful symbol of reunion, healing, and shared creation across generations.
This project resonates deeply with the curatorial theme, reflecting on how individuals and communities repair broken ties. It explores how personal acts of research and discovery can lead to moments of collective belonging, even across vast temporal and geographical distances.
The act of “seeing” — through reading archival documents, interpreting family records, and following Kyugoro’s footsteps on road trips — forms the project’s central element. Through photography, video, text, and collected voices, I hope to reveal how looking closely at the past allows us to reclaim silenced histories and invites us to re-imagine from current perspectives, together.
The KYUGORO project is about more than personal history: it speaks to a universal longing to connect, belong, and create meaning with others. It stands as a small testament to how, even after separation and silence, we can come together again — through memory, art, and love.
The KYUGORO photobook is published by Dewi Lewis Publishing in May 2025.
