The Time Between Life and Death by Tsuneo Enari

HARDCOVER 204 PAGES, PUBLISHER: Heibonsha; 1ST edition (2006)

Tsuneo Enari’s poignant photo diary documenting his bout with cancer, which alternates between self-portraits and shots of his immediate surroundings — most often his garden — and short diary entries. Says Enari in the afterword:

This book contains photographs taken over a period of almost three years. To tell the truth, I hemmed and hawed before publishing them. I thought the small scenery at my feet would be acceptable enough to readers, but then who would take the photos of my haggard face in a state of recovery, seriously? As such, the whole work has the risk of being read in a rather different way from its real meaning. However, I decided to reveal the facts about my physical state just as they were — as facts.

This book is fully bilingual, with the book’s main text — Enari’s diaristic entries — as well as Koji Taki’s critical essay on Enari’s career and Enari’s afterword, available in both Japanese and English.