vocalise — Kotori Kawashima

Published in 2020, vocalise is Kotori Kawashima’s tender return to childhood as seen through the lens of his signature softness — a kind of visual murmur. Known for his viral early work Mirai-chan, Kawashima here extends that vision with the same luminous palette and direct emotional tone. The cover portrait sets the mood: a girl on a bus catching a rainbow flare with her finger, framed in half-light, half-dream.

Each page in vocalise carries a sense of hush — close-up portraits, fleeting light, small domestic rituals — echoing the book’s musical title. These are not just photographs of a child, but images of being-with, of intimacy shaped over time. The result is a deceptively simple volume, precise in its restraint and full of minor chords. A continuation of the kawaii-realism Kawashima is known for, and a visual companion to the fleeting hums of early memory.

Technical Sheet
Title: vocalise
Artist / Author: Kotori Kawashima
Date: 2020
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Softcover with dust jacket
Dimensions (cm): approx. 19 × 13
Language: Japanese
Pages: 80
Publisher / Editor: Akaaka Art Publishing
ISBN: 978-4-86732-028-0
Condition: NEW