Prize-winning works in the “Photo and Essay Division” for high school students of the 31st Yomiuri Photo Grand Prix

The World in Your Gaze / Nakakura Haruka (Fukui)

Message from the photographer

We met back in the spring of our second year of high school; the look in your eyes was clear and perceptive. When our eyes met at school, I was immediately drawn by the power and charm of your eyes. Natsumi—I call her “Natchan,”—always bursting with energy at school, has a secret: her concentrated gaze during kendo practice that she doesn’t show to just anybody. She gives off such an aura that even I, watching from the sidelines, felt myself sit up straight and concentrate. Her vivacious laughter, her voracious appetite, her quiet focus as she studies and her concentration during kendo practice—they’re all different sides of Natchan. I wonder what the world looks like through Natchan’s eyes.

About the subject

Natsumi is a friend of mine in the same year at school. I chose her as my subject because I am fascinated by her power to make people happy just by being around.