A new exhibition at London’s Photographers’ Gallery highlights the work of Japan’s lesser-known women photographers, including Asako Narahashi, whose early 2000s series centered on her unique approach to capturing the country’s extensive waterways. Japan’s geography, with approximately 30,000 kilometers of coastline alongside numerous lakes and rivers, provided a varied backdrop for her photography.

Narahashi’s series, created using a waterproof camera, features images taken both in tranquil suburban harbors and more rugged coastal areas, often navigating busy maritime routes framed by container ships and suspension bridges. One notable part of the collection depicts her immersed in Lake Kawaguchiko, situated at the base of Mount Fuji. This location, integral to Japan’s iconic landscape, serves as a setting where Narahashi captures light reflecting on the water’s surface and the tactile sensation of the waves.

The series, titled *Half Awake and Half Asleep in the Water*, explores the precarious sensation of uncertainty and fluidity, reflected in the photographer’s physical experience of balancing in the water while keeping her lens above the waves. Through these images, Narahashi conveys a sense of being caught between states—existing in neither full alertness nor complete repose—echoing broader themes of expectation and responsibility. The exhibition aims to bring greater visibility to women photographers whose innovative work has often been overlooked within Japan’s photographic tradition.