A Quiet and Warm Record of the Author's Interactions with Sakhalin Residents

Sakhalin. During the Japanese colonial era, it was called Karafuto, and many Japanese people lived there. While most Japanese were repatriated after the end of the war, some remained on the island for various reasons. It is said that many of these were women who gave up returning home for the sake of their families and children.

Young photographer Yuki Goto, 32, has compiled the lives of these remaining Japanese residents in Sakhalin into a single book.

Goto, a member of the NPO Japan Sakhalin Association, began his fieldwork in Sakhalin in 2006 as his life's work. He has been actively engaged in initiatives such as launching a joint project with researchers from Hokkaido University in 2014. He is also scheduled to hold a photography exhibition at the Sakhalin State Art Museum this October.



This book features photographs and writings taken by Goto during his interactions with women who were forced to remain alone under Soviet rule in Sakhalin, and women who were married off at the age of 14 due to poverty and still live in Sakhalin today.

Goto's quiet and warm photographs and writings, which seem to emanate his gentle personality, shed light on the present day of Sakhalin and a part of its post-war history.