She is not afraid to jump into the world of ethnic minorities, whose cultures are completely different from Japan's, but what is it that makes her so fascinated with Africa? We asked her about her passion for Africans, which she has admired since childhood, and the communication skills she has acquired through her repeated trips to Africa.
Text: Kimiyoshi Tomite Photo: Nozomi Toyoshima
"I wanted to be a Maasai": From a reclusive teenager to a traveling photographer
OnTrip JAL Editorial Department (hereinafter JAL): Have you always had a desire to go to Africa since you were a child?
Yoshida Nagi (hereinafter Yoshida): When I was 5 years old, I saw the Maasai on TV. I was deeply impressed by their dark bodies, dressed in primary colored clothes, and jumping around with spears in their hands. I believed that I wanted to become a Maasai someday, and that I could. But of course, my skin color remained the same, and at the age of 10, my dream was quickly shattered.
JAL: I read in another interview that you were originally a recluse and not a very active person.
Yoshida: That's right. When I was a teenager, I had no desire to go abroad. I didn't have good relationships with my friends in junior high school, and until I left home at the age of 21, all I could think about were negative things and I stayed at home.
Yoshida Nagi
JAL: It seems like there's a big gap between the Yoshida who was that reclusive and negative person and the Yoshida he is today, who travels alone to the other side of the world.
Yoshida: The opportunity to go out, or rather, the opportunity to discover the joy of living, was when I left my parents' house and started living alone for the first time. Until then, I had never cleaned, washed, or cooked, so just doing the housework necessary to survive was a series of new discoveries every day. "There's still so much I don't know about life! Maybe I've given up on it." That was the trigger, and I gradually stopped saying negative things.
JAL: What prompted you to start going to Africa?
Yoshida: It all started when I was in a slump at work. I was working as an illustrator at the time, but I couldn't draw anymore. So I thought, "Maybe if I change my outlook on life, I can draw again," and decided to take a big leap of faith and travel to Thailand. At that time, I bought a single-lens reflex camera to record my experiences, which led to my current job.
However, I traveled to several Asian countries, starting with Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, but I didn't feel any strong emotions. I felt that Asia was an extension of my daily life in Japan. So I decided to go to Africa, which I had always longed for since I was a child. I was worried because I couldn't speak English at all, but I didn't worry too much about the details and decided to go to Ethiopia alone through a domestic travel agency.
JAL: How was your first time in Africa?
The Suri ethnic minority of Ethiopia (Nagi Yoshida, 2014)
Yoshida: Thinking back, my first trip was probably the most peaceful. Even though I couldn't speak a word of English, my guide would smile wryly and praise me for speaking just one English word. Although it was inconvenient not being able to express myself in my own words, it was more fun to discover that "you can make friends with people even if you can't speak English!". What's more, there were African people I admired everywhere, and I was so excited that I felt like I was surrounded by Hollywood stars (laughs).
JAL: Was it easy to communicate with the ethnic minorities?
Yoshida: I was able to take photos, but the wall between the photographer and the person being photographed was so big that I couldn't become friends with them right away. They only recognized me as a "white person who came to Africa out of curiosity." But it was my first time in Africa, so I headed back with the intention of trying again.
To be accepted, you must first accept their culture
JAL: How did you become friends with African people and ethnic minorities during your many travels?
Yoshida surrounded by local children in Ethiopia
Yoshida: That's a difficult question... Basically, they are proud of their skin color, but the history and memories of being persecuted by white people because of it are deeply rooted. So even if it's their true feelings, it's hard to say "I admire your skin color" so easily.
Actually, I don't wear sunscreen, but I intuitively felt that it would be rude to the locals. Then one day, a local asked me, "Why don't you wear sunscreen like other people? Why don't you wear long sleeves?" It was then that I was finally able to tell him, "Because I admire you guys," and "Dark skin is cool!" Thanks to that, he seemed to realize that I was different from the other tourists, and thought, "After all, this guy really likes us!"
JAL: Speaking of Yoshida, he is often described on TV as "crazy" for his proactive approach to trying local foods that are unfamiliar in Japan and communicating with them.
Yoshida: Local people try to gauge whether tourists are truly respecting them. This is especially true for ethnic minorities. I eat whatever food they serve me. I just eat it out of curiosity to learn more, but whether it tastes bad or good, if I eat it and show a reaction, it seems to make them feel that I am "accepting their culture."
JAL: When you photograph members of ethnic minorities, you take on the traditional attire of that ethnic group yourself because you want to learn more about their culture.
With the Maasai women of Kenya and Tanzania (Nagi Yoshida, 2014)
Yoshida: Yes. To me, all Africans, whether they are guides or ethnic minorities, are people I look up to. But to them, anyone with whiter skin than us is a "white person." And they say, "We all have the same face." I want to be remembered in their history as, "There was Nagi, he was the best." (laughs) It may be self-satisfaction, but I want them to say, "Nagi was a special white person." I want to be special to those I look up to.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
