At the end of 1933, when my mother was in the 4th grade of elementary school, the family moved from Takamatsu to Fushun, Manchuria. Because her grandfather became the vice-principal of Fushun Girls' High School in Manchuria, which was just established the previous year.
　In 2004 and 2005, I traveled to Fushun, Harbin, Yanji, Shitou, and Shenyang in search of my mother's "Manchuria." Fushun was the land of my mother's youth. It was very difficult to find the location of the old address "West Park 2-6" of the official residence where my mother lived. However, thanks to the detailed analysis of the guide in 2005, it was finally found that the location of the large apartment in front of "Nantai Elementary School" was the site. A huge and lively apartment stood there, dispelling the image of the elegant official residence that I imagined from my mother's memoir. I was delighted and took pictures many times back and forth on the narrow road between the apartment and the elementary school.

"Mother, at 13 in her high-school uniform, and me at the same age
in a photo studio in Fushun circa 1937"
148cm×210cm, computer-composed photograph, 2006

"Mother, age 12, wearing white stockings, and me, also age 12, at 2-6 West Park, Fushun circa 1936"
343cm×490cm, computer-composed photograph, 2006
Source of old photograph:
Photo "Beautifully designed town of Fushun, a coal mine city" from Photobook "Nostalgic Manchuria" (Ken Kitakoji, November 1978, Kokushokankokai Inc.)

"Open-air mine on the night of the Pingdingshan Massacre"
100cm×314cm, computer-composed photograph, 2007
Source of old photograph:
Photo "In 1935, night view of Fushun, the coal mine city" from "Japanese Colonial History 2, Manchuria, Separate Volume of 100-million People's Showa History" (Mainichi Shimbun)