TAMRON | Kenichi Komatsu

Kenichi Komatsu

Komatsu was born in Okayama Prefecture in 1953 and grew up in Gunma Prefecture. After completing the postgraduate course at the Gendai Shashin Kenkyujo (Institute of Contemporary Photography), he worked as a newspaper reporter, and later launched his career as a freelance photographer. Among his award-winning works are The gods of the mountain kingdom, which won him the Second Shihachi Fujimoto Photographic Culture Award in 1999, and The Holy Temple Pilgrimage Of Great Himalaya, which won him the Photographic Society of Japan's Annual Award in 2005.

Official website: http://www.kenichikomatsu.com/

From My "Records of Three Kingdoms Tour"

Longmen, Zhejiang province
Longmen, Zhejiang province
Longmen, Zhejiang province
Longmen, Zhejiang province
Anchang, Zhejiang province

It has been over 20 years since I began my "Records of Three Kingdoms Tour." During that time, I traveled through almost every corner of mainland China. I estimate that over the course of this tour, I have probably covered approximately 50,000 kilometers.

Looking back, it truly seemed like a never-ending journey. With an intention of bringing an end to this long tour, I set off once again, at the height of summer, to shoot photos for this project.

I travelled to Zhuge Town in Lanxi city, where the descendants of Zhuge Liang, who is all too famous as the chancellor of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period, are said to be living; Longmen Town, the native land of the family of Sun Quan, emperor of Wu; and to Anchang Town in Shaoxing city, where strong remnants of old China still remain.

Through my journey, I developed more than anything a fascination for the spiritual nature of the people, who worship and venerate the heroes of 1,800 years ago as their own ancestors, and still make use of the teachings of those heroes in their everyday lives.

Feedback on having used 18-270mm (Model B008)

I have used Tamron lenses for some time, and I trust their reliability. When I photographed with this new compact lens, the excellent portability reminded me of my younger days when I worked as a news photographer.