During the period from September 30, 2023 (Saturday) to October 5, 2023 (Thursday), YUGEN Gallery will host the photo exhibition "Yokozuna Hakuho" by Hidemi Ogata.

"This moment is everything, this instant is eternity." This exhibition showcases photographs of the 69th Grand Sumo Champion, Hakuho (currently known as Miyagino Oyakata), captured by the renowned photographer Hidemi Ogata. Ogata has been photographing legendary icons such as musicians and artists for over 30 years. This exhibition includes approximately 20 valuable shots, including original prints from the 2011 photo book "Yokozuna Hakuho"

Photographing to Connect with Creators

The Miracle of Meeting Hakuho

"I have always followed my intuition and met my subjects as if it were fate. These were people I was meant to encounter. I believe in the miracle of these encounters," Ogata reflects.

Although she had an instinct to "Sumo is photogenic. I want to take photos of sumo wrestlers. " , she had no prior knowledge of sumo, then at the suggestion of a sumo fan friend, she attended a sumo practice at the Miyagino Stable in April 2007. After the practice, as other wrestlers left, Hakuho, who was an ozeki ( immediately below yokozuna in the ranking system), approached Ogata and spoke to her.

"Upon first meeting Hakuho, I saw a beautiful sumo wrestler with a warm aura, having a complexion like cherry blossoms. While my sumo-loving friend had told me his name, I couldn't match his face with the name. Nevertheless, his aura made it immediately clear that he was the one."

From that moment, Ogata captured Hakuho's journey: his rise to the rank of yokozuna after defeating Asashoryu, his first yokozuna rope-tying ceremony, and his performance at the Meiji Shrine. Her joy came from preserving these moments, but her lens also captured more than just the radiance.

Capturing the Essence Beyond the Spotlight

The day after his defeat, with no reporters or visitors in the stable, Ogata, Hakuho, and his stablemaster shared a meal. Later, they spent time together alone in Hakuho's room, where he confided in Ogata about his loneliness and struggles. This was the side of Hakuho that the public rarely saw, and Ogata cherished the opportunity to capture these intimate moments.

"A smile shown outside the ring, a gentle personality that doesn't boast and is loved by anyone. I believe that in addition to his record of 63 consecutive wins, Hakuho is a Yokozuna who will go down in history for his humanity. By capturing the eternal image of Yokozuna Hakuho through photography, I couldn't be happier if his energy, to the extent that he seems like a human becoming divine, reaches people all over the world," says Ogata.

Ogata recalls that when she was 18 years old and had recovered from a near-fatal accident, she asked a famous fortune teller in his hometown of Kumamoto if she could become a photographer, and was told this.

"If you appreciate shadows, you can become one."

In her early work, Ogata photographed black individuals she met in a New York club using only a single light in a condominium room, creating the series "my fabulous friends." She continues this approach in her ongoing personal photo sessions, "Only One by Hidemi Ogata." Her subjects are not legendary icons but ordinary people. Ogata explains, "While photography naturally focuses on light, acknowledging and appreciating shadows allows me to capture a broader perspective beyond extremes."In the substantial shadows that emerge, the figures of ordinary people rise like sturdy buildings enduring the test of time.

“The body may perish someday, but energy remains eternal. The existence of humans is art.”

Ogata's photography focuses on the eternal nature of human existence, even in fleeting moments. Her lens captures Hakuho's exuberant victory roars after practice, the contorted expressions during his first rope-tying ceremony, and the relief he shows when with his parents from Mongolia.

Sumo, developed as a ritual to pray for peace, hides aspects of the wrestler's humanity that remain unseen by the public eye. Ogata's ability to respectfully enter these hidden realms for a moment combines documentary-style humanity with the elegance of fiction.

To the Photo Exhibition 'Yokozuna Hakuho'