SKINSHIP

Skinship is a Japanese word that describes the skin-to-skin relationship between a mother and a child or family. Skinship includes cuddling, breastfeeding, co-bathing or co-sleeping which build intimacy. Through an experience of loving touch, a child learns caring for others. Japanese skinship is considered to be important for strengthening the bond of family and also for the child’s healthy development.

Because the idea of skinship was perfectly natural to me as Japanese, only after I was arrested in New York because of family snapshots of skinship, did I realize how unique and shocking it could be in other cultural contexts. Living in both Japan and America showed me a cultural comparison and paradox clearly.

In Japan, I gave birth to my son in 2012 and started making self-portraits, somehow, in the chaos of everyday life flying by. There seemed no boundary between our bodies, a symbiotic union. Photographing my son growing up and enjoying skinship also enabled healing my old wound.

© Takako Kido - Breastfeeding In The Morning
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Breastfeeding In The Morning

© Takako Kido - Umbilical Cord
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Umbilical Cord

© Takako Kido - Breastfeeding On The Beach
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Breastfeeding On The Beach

© Takako Kido - Little Pissing Man
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Little Pissing Man

© Takako Kido - Grandfather's Bedroom
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Grandfather's Bedroom

© Takako Kido - Baby Bird
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Baby Bird

© Takako Kido - Taiyo And I
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Taiyo And I

© Takako Kido - Tetsuya And Taiyo
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Tetsuya And Taiyo

© Takako Kido - Window
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Window

© Takako Kido - Sunday Morning Sleeping In
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Sunday Morning Sleeping In

© Takako Kido - In This Universe
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In This Universe

© Takako Kido - Twiddling
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Twiddling

© Takako Kido - Morning Prayer
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Morning Prayer

© Takako Kido - Cherry Blossoms
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Cherry Blossoms

© Takako Kido - Ikebana (Japanese Traditional Flower Arrangement)
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Ikebana (Japanese Traditional Flower Arrangement)

© Takako Kido - Happy Birthday
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Happy Birthday

© Takako Kido - Alone In Countryside
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Alone In Countryside

© Takako Kido - He Sometimes Wants To Go Back To My Tummy Again
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He Sometimes Wants To Go Back To My Tummy Again

© Takako Kido - Feels So Good
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Feels So Good

© Takako Kido - Hiding
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Hiding

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