I'm a third generation Japanese American, so I do a lot of the Japan stories. This is my territory, my area of interest, and I've been shooting it for the past 30 years. But this particular assignment was more interesting than most because it was about the samurai period in Japan, which was from 1185 to 1867. Everything considered quintessentially Japanese by the West was developed during this time. And pretty much everything people enjoy about Japan came out of this period. Getting this assignment was like getting a license to shoot my favorite things about Japan. Of course, the challenge was to do it in a different way from what everyone else does. But it was wonderful—from kendo to Kabuki, geisha, tea ceremonies, gardens, and castles—you name it.
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It took a lot of effort to get permission to photograph many of my subjects, including actors, a former prime minister, and a tea master—actually the grand tea master of Japan. The people around him treat him like an emperor because he's so famous. So when he was giving me his time, I kept worrying whether the picture would be used. The same thing happened when I photographed former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, who comes from one of the most powerful samurai clans. I kept thinking, Oh God, what if they don't use the picture?
Worst of all, on three different occasions I had to photograph yabusame, a martial art that involves shooting bows and arrows from horseback. Each group of guys was convinced their picture would be in the magazine. I tried to soften the blow by telling them, "Look, we've been doing this for six weeks, and we take an awful lot of pictures." But it was tricky because I wanted them to let me shoot. This problem arises with every story we do, but this time it was worse because I have a stake in Japan. It's my heritage.
Editor's note: Ultimately, only one of the photos Mike mentions was published.
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One day my assistant, Ken, and I were shooting at Hikone castle. I had a panoramic camera and was showing him how it worked. We spent the morning there and then left.
Two days later I told Ken I needed the camera. But when he went to get the camera bag, he couldn't find it. While my immediate concern was that I needed the camera right then, of course the next question was, where did it go? Then Ken remembered the last time we used it. So we called the police at Hikone and asked if they'd found the camera. Typical of Japan, someone had found it on a park bench and turned it in, about $7,000 worth of camera and lenses. We picked it up the next day.
A day after that I was looking for my small stepladder. I asked Ken to get it, but it wasn't there. By this time he was really in the doghouse. (He was new and very nervous.) He said, "Oh, no! I forgot it where we were a couple of days ago." This time we didn't bother making a phone call. We just drove back and found the ladder exactly where we'd left it. Japanese people are very honest.
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