Ms. Takagi, in this photo taken by her mother is three years old and is standing with her father at Gokoku Shrine in Nagoya. It was the Shichi-Go-San (the annual Seven-Five-Three Festival) where her family celebrated her growth along with that of other children also aged three, five or seven years old. The woman behind them had come however for a different reason. This week Prime Minister Sato had met with President Johnson from the USA to discuss reverting control of Okinawa from the USA back to Japan. Unfortunately the discussions had been unsuccessful. Her husband, a journalist, is standing a few steps away, and was leaving for Okinawa the next day. He was going to cover the anger of the people in Okinawa at the decision. She had asked him to come here to pray as she was very worried about his upcoming assignment.
「父と娘」、ゼラチン・シルバー・プリント、1967年、7.7 x 7.7 cm、高木麻里蔵。
この写真は、名古屋の護國神社で、高木さんの母親が撮影したものだ。3歳の高木さんと彼女の父親が写っている。これは七五三といって、子どもが3歳、5歳、7歳を無事に迎えられたことを家族で祝う行事だ。だが、後ろに写っている女性は、異なる理由でここを訪れた。この時、佐藤栄作総理がアメリカのジョンソン大統領と会談し、沖縄返還を求めたが、残念ながらそれは実現しなかった。数歩離れたところにいる彼女の夫はジャーナリストであり、この翌日、沖縄の人々の怒りを取材し伝えるために、沖縄へ向かうことになっていた。夫の不安な先行きを憂慮した彼女は、ここに来て夫の無事を祈願していたのである。