Maggs Bros.

It must have been an act of serendipity that brought Narahara to Spain in the early half of the 1960s. As he explains in the preface, he felt drawn to Europe on account of being born in Nagasaki, the city in Japan to first open its doors to the “Southern barbarians” (nanbanjin) from Spain and Portugal. Narahara spent two long summers driving around Spain with his wife and he got to know the country well. The present record, produced - as he insists - unintentionally, is the best book of photographs ever produced on Spain. Being a prejudiced person myself, I avoided the work for a long time thinking, what could a Japanese possibly tell me about Spain? This is a book full of Spanish passion, Spanish sensibilities, and of course the Spanish “dance to the cult of the smell of blood” features prominently in the first chapter. “As death, which every one must meet ultimately in his life, is not in itself the purpose of life, the death of the bull is never the purpose of this drama of bullfighting.” The final chapter of the book is entitled “Vaya con Dios”. Here Narahara finds the void of timelessness. One can feel the heat, one can smell the ham, and the deep humanity in spite of the poverty.