Under the Same Sun

Photographer

YICHEN YANG

Category

Black & White Photography - Street

Company

Tokyo Polytechnic University

Submission Group

Student

Year

2026

Country / Region:

Japan

As I grew older, I gradually became aware of the presence of “aloneness.” After moving to Tokyo for my studies, this feeling became more tangible. In a foreign city, I experienced prolonged social difficulties and went through periods of emotional struggle. After emerging from that state, I began to reexamine “aloneness” in contemporary life. It is no longer merely a personal feeling of loneliness, but a condition widely embedded in modern urban existence. This work attempts to capture that condition. I walk through the city, observing the subtle distances between people, and use candid photography to record moments that appear ordinary yet carry an underlying tension. The choice of black-and-white photography is intended to remove the distraction of color, allowing emotions to be conveyed in a more direct and distilled form.

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