| Tanshin funin is the word for when a spouse (usually the husband) is given a job assignment
far away and moves there without taking the rest of the family along, something
that happens a lot in Japan. Almost always the choice is made because moving
will affect the children’s schooling, the family can’t give up the house
they already own, or the other spouse needs to take care of aging parents
or has her own career.In our household, too, my husband has been away at
his job for six years now, so that for my daughters and me his absence
has become the normal thing and having him come back home feels unusual.
This series collects images from our life apart, including pictures we’ve
exchanged via cell phone of my husband’s meals alone and of our childrengrowing
up, into a portrait of the facet of Ja panese social culture known as tanshin funin |
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