My parents and me. Photographed by Makoto Matsubara.
Tetsuo Shimizu was born in Kyoto in 1954 into a family that had been practicing *Kyosashimono* (Kyoto-style joinery) for six generations. Due to complex family circumstances, he lived without a family register for two years, and his status was only officially resolved in 1956.
Regarding his year of birth, some of his profiles and publications list both 1954 and 1956. Shimizu explains this matter as follows:
"Even though I'm the person involved, I was very young and don't really know what was happening. However, my family register officially states 1956. My mother always told me, 'You are the child I had when I was 30.' Since my mother was born in 1924, that would make me born in 1954. I believe those 'complex family circumstances' made my mother continue saying that. When I told this to Kiyoshi Inagaki, the president of Fubaisha, who accepted my work *The Alleys of the Shonen Jet,* he said, 'Those family circumstances will become a theme you'll continue to write about. I think it would be good to clarify it as you continue your work.' So, we decided to list my birth year as 1954 in my profile. And that's been carried on ever since."
Shimizu himself was partly at the mercy of these family circumstances and left home early to find his own way of living. He later graduated from Doshisha University with a degree in Philosophy and Ethics. After graduation, he wandered across various regions while working part-time. He began his writing career around 1980. He did not inherit the *Kyosashimono* business, and the family trade ended with the sixth generation.
He has resided in Kagoshima City since 1997.
Always in the field, he has relied on firsthand experience gained by immersing himself in the daily lives and workplaces of ordinary people to form his thoughts and continue writing documentaries. The theme he pursues is to "look directly at how people, as realistic beings, live." Since around 2000, he has been exploring the potential of photography as a unique form of expression, which he had previously used for documentation. Since 2014, he has held photo exhibitions in Kagoshima, Osaka, and Kyoto. One culmination of this work is the book *Walking with a Sway: A Couple's 166 Days*.
Over his 40-year career as a writer, he has authored more than 40 titles.
Regarding his year of birth, some of his profiles and publications list both 1954 and 1956. Shimizu explains this matter as follows:
"Even though I'm the person involved, I was very young and don't really know what was happening. However, my family register officially states 1956. My mother always told me, 'You are the child I had when I was 30.' Since my mother was born in 1924, that would make me born in 1954. I believe those 'complex family circumstances' made my mother continue saying that. When I told this to Kiyoshi Inagaki, the president of Fubaisha, who accepted my work *The Alleys of the Shonen Jet,* he said, 'Those family circumstances will become a theme you'll continue to write about. I think it would be good to clarify it as you continue your work.' So, we decided to list my birth year as 1954 in my profile. And that's been carried on ever since."
Shimizu himself was partly at the mercy of these family circumstances and left home early to find his own way of living. He later graduated from Doshisha University with a degree in Philosophy and Ethics. After graduation, he wandered across various regions while working part-time. He began his writing career around 1980. He did not inherit the *Kyosashimono* business, and the family trade ended with the sixth generation.
He has resided in Kagoshima City since 1997.
Always in the field, he has relied on firsthand experience gained by immersing himself in the daily lives and workplaces of ordinary people to form his thoughts and continue writing documentaries. The theme he pursues is to "look directly at how people, as realistic beings, live." Since around 2000, he has been exploring the potential of photography as a unique form of expression, which he had previously used for documentation. Since 2014, he has held photo exhibitions in Kagoshima, Osaka, and Kyoto. One culmination of this work is the book *Walking with a Sway: A Couple's 166 Days*.
Over his 40-year career as a writer, he has authored more than 40 titles.
On the far right is Tetsuo as a young child. in the 1950s.