在ヒューストン日本国総領事館

Thank you very much for that courteous introduction.

Good evening ladies and gentleman. It is a great honor to be invited here today to celebrate the opening of “Counter-Photography”. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to The Blue Star Contemporary Art Center which has kindly given us this excellent opportunity to experience Japanese art culture with this unique exhibit.I am looking forward to sharing this pleasure with the citizens of the great city of San Antonio, including the many Japanese currently residing in this city.

We do not get to come out to this city as much as we would like, but hopefully, through events like these, Japanese culture will continue to grow strong roots here in Texas’ cultural capital so we can visit more frequently.

I would like to take this moment to recognize the many people whose support has made this exhibition possible; the Japanese photographers, the curators of the contributing Japanese museums, the Japan Foundation which has helped to bring this exhibit to San Antonio as well as other museums throughout the world.

I must also recognize the Japan America Society of San Antonio, which does a wonderful job of spreading Japanese culture in and around this city on a regular basis.

Last, but not least, I wish to extend my thanks to all of you who are here today: thank you for your cooperation and support.

Photography, one of the younger art mediums, is only about 160 years old. In that short time photography has established itself for its unique ability to copy reality. Of course photos can also be manipulated and abstracted: photography can explore subjects not just with their image, but beyond what is visible.

The Counter-Photography exhibit aims to introduce these eleven contemporary artists as they explore the reality behind the visible image, creating new relationships and new meaning through their photos.

I would like to conclude by extending my sincere respect and appreciation to Blue Star for organizing this wonderful exhibition as well as the city of San Antonio for hosting us here. I am honored to welcome this exhibition to America.I am quite sure that the exhibition will be a great success.

Thank you very much.