Infinite Embrace Seiichi Motohashi Little More/1994/Japanese/H217×W303mm Seiichi Motohashi first visited the area contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1991. It was five years after the accident. When he stood in front of the sarcophagus of Reactor No. 4, he thought it was a place he should never come back to. When he met children with thyroid dysfunction and leukemia in the hospital, he thought it would be impossible to take pictures of them. However, his encounters with the people who continue to live in the contaminated land of Checharsk led him to visit the area frequently. The land continues to be beautiful and majestic, and the people never leave it. The old man murmurs, "Where do you want me to go? Whether people live there or not, signs are erected to indicate the contaminated area. But for these people, called "samashor" (selfish people), it is their beloved homeland from which they cannot leave. They keep cows and pigs, grow potatoes, hunt deer, and live their own lives without chasing after civilization. Even in the contaminated land, plants and trees sprout again, and the seasons change. Thirty years after the Chernobyl accident and five years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, this group of photographs captures the original landscape of life that is once again attracting attention. #japanweek