But it would take years for Hideo Honda to finally find where his passion is — photography.
A native of Koddaira, Tokyo, Hideo is the eldest of two sons of a Subaru car quality control manager and a housewife.
Before the Captain Tsubasa character in comics and on television became a nationwide hit, the Japanese men loved baseball.
Captain Tsubasa’s following conflagrates into a nationwide phenomenon and it catches the impressionable young, including Hideo. Soon, he signs up for both school and private clubs where soccer is taught.
Asked by Variety if he figured in some prominent tournaments, he says, he was part of a “famous team” that won tournaments.
But not long after an accident cut short his enjoyment of the sport. His left leg sustained an injury.
Despite the injury that kept him away from the sport, Hideo says he didn’t feel too depressed about it and he chose to do other things.
The conversation on social studies and history as his favorite subject segues into discussion of his grandparents’ experience of the war and how it changed their lives.
According to Hideo, his grandfather served in the military and went to China during World War II.
But he says that was all he could tell them as he declined to talk about what he considered as a sad memory.
While the men fought overseas, the women and children were forced to work in military plants.
He says, “My grandmother worked for a military factory making weapons. She didn’t like it but she had to do it.”
“There was no choice,” he says. But he says it was a “sad period” for everyone.
Hideo says he remembers his grandparents’ and parents’ advice: “Tanin ni meiwaku wo kakeruna — don’t be an inconvenience to anyone.”
Although the culture dictates for everyone to be self-reliant, it’s also ingrained in the culture for people to be ready to lend a helping hand, to help each other in times of need.
At the age of 19 and having finished high school in Tokyo, Hideo elects to eke out a living. He says his first job was a salesperson for a company that makes electronic wires and stayed with the company for a year and a half.
Then he found himself juggling three part-time jobs that not only put foot on the table for Hideo but he says, “I earned a lot.”
When he was young, Hideo admits about the mischief of youth getting him into trouble.
Rather than inveighing on his infractions, his uncle, he says thought it wise to employ him in his company that offers building maintenance services so he could be kept out of trouble.
And he turned over a new leaf.
One day, he says, an accident changed his life again.
While working 6 meters above the ground, Hideo says he was caught surprise by the collapse of the scaffolding. He was lucky to have come out of the rubble alive; however, he was operated on for broken hands and legs.
For 96 weeks, Hideo says he had to stay in the hospital and he spent three more months for rehabilitation.
Thinking he could no longer do his previous job, he combed newspaper classifieds for jobs and he found one interesting—at a photo laboratory.
Little did Hideo know that this would be a turning point in his life.
He began working part-time developing films and printing photographs on a night shift for 10 hours, from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
In 8 months, he says, he kept doing this job at a rate of ¥1,200 an hour.
Soon, he says, he was transferred to another branch of O-Tsuka Color photo laboratory where he began working full time and on a daytime shift.
It was through constant working on photographs and meeting photographers that he began to develop fondness for photography.
From the time he bought the first of his five Canon cameras, he knew he was bitten by the shutterbug.
Initially he says he found it interesting taking photos of landscapes. Then he developed the liking for taking portraits.
He studied and took advice from professional photographers.
Asked by Variety of the first time he visited the islands, Hideo says it was in 1997 or 1998. Then he returned in 1999 and stayed for six days.
While doing a calendar project on Saipan in 2000, he met fellow Japanese with whom he kept in touch.
The following year, he says, he was encouraged to work on Saipan; unfortunately, the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001 put that on hold.
It was 2003, he says, that he received another invite that led him to making a difficult decision. He says he had a thriving career in Japan at the time. But the chance to try living on Saipan won him over.
Now, almost eight years down the road, Hideo has developed a following among companies who trust his talent and admire his professionalism.
He has been to several countries for commercial photo shoots. His pictures have landed in calendars, brochures, magazines, among innumerable marketing collaterals.
He travels back and forth to Japan where he has taken photographs of commercial models, movie stars, and has done work for big companies.
His reputation precedes him — a photographer who considers his job with meticulous eye for details and observes a high degree of professionalism.
When he takes photographs, Hideo not only aims to just meet expectations; he endeavors to exceed them.
For Hideo, it’s not just the equipment and technique that set photographers apart. He says it is how they compose the photographs.
With a new immigration system being enforced on island and with him yearning to fulfill his dream of owning his own photo laboratory, Hideo says he has been at a fork in the road for a little while. But, fulfilling his dream is the path he has chosen to take.
Come November, he says, he goes back to Tokyo where he will continue his career as a professional photographer.
It’s another difficult decision to make as he says he will be leaving behind friendships he has built over the years.
Of the major projects he did on Saipan, he remembers his work with the Aqua Resort Club, exhibit at Beans Café in Susupe, and his 10-day trip to Pagan where he joined a crew of Hollywood filmmakers.
As he returns to Japan, this writer, who worked with Hideo on a number of photo shoots, will always remember his passion for his craft, his professionalism, his flexibility in dealing with a variety of clients, his commitment to work, and his humility in accepting ideas without compromising his artistic sense.
Hideo says he’ll be leaving with a heavy heart filled with fond memories of Saipan and the CNMI and he will always be grateful to the people for the hospitality and the opportunities they afforded him to pursue his craft.
Each time he comes at a fork in the road in his life it leads to better opportunities.
To Hideo, more popularly known as Honda-san, “[dewa] mata neh!” — till our paths meet again.
