Toshiko HashimotoKichimu Flies at Night

Toshiko Hashimoto’s photobook Kichimu Flies at Night is a series of well-observed scenes from her everyday family life (husband, two children, cat). Hashimoto infuses her (often grainy) black-and-white photos with a sense of wonder and fantasy that makes the book a joy to browse through.

“Ki-chi-mu, ki-chi-mu, kichimu flies at night…
One day my two-year old daughter, who did not distinct between dreams and reality yet, sang this to herself.
Ki-chi-mu.
It sounded strange to me, like an incantation.
Later I found out the word can mean ‘lucky dream’ or ‘dream of good fortune’ in Japanese.
There was no way she could have known the word at her age. I thought of her sudden use of it as a prophecy for the future, as a vague but indisputable sign.”