KAGOSHIMA -- With Tatsuya Tanaka, a blue kitchen sponge becomes the great ocean. Disposable razors turn into ski lifts.
The 36-year-old photographer specializes in miniature photos, creating unique worlds using everyday items. Day after day, he uploads a new photo to his website, Miniature Calendar. His Instagram account featuring the photos has more than 1 million followers.
Tanaka began posting photos of his miniature art in 2011 when he was working at a design company in Kagoshima. Back then, it was just a hobby, but after pouring a great deal of time and energy into his miniature works, he decided to post the photos on social media. He even used photos of his works as part of the seating plans for guests at his wedding party that same year.
The images Tanaka posted on Instagram began attracting more and more viewers, to the point that he fell into a routine of updating his account every day.
Tanaka's miniature works have appeared on various media, and they featured in the opening title sequence of NHK's high-profile morning drama "Hiyokko" last year.
The Yomiuri Shimbun recently visited Tanaka at his home studio in Kagoshima to find him working with salt.
"Today, I will make this salt look like a sandy beach," he said. The artist then put five salt mills together on a sheet of blue paper before sprinkling the seasoning around them. When he positioned some small, plastic palm trees on the salt, the mills took on the appearance of a palace towering over the sea.
Tanaka added tiny figures as a finishing touch, creating a scene in which people are standing alert as shipwrecked pirates approach the shore.
Tanaka titled the work "Yosomono e wa shio taio" (A salty response to strangers). It has earned him about 50,000 "likes" on Instagram.
Tanaka has held exhibitions of his works, with his first show in Taiwan in June last year drawing about 110,000 visitors.
"The beauty of miniature art is that we can share the same feelings even if we don't understand each other's languages," he said, adding that he hopes to hold exhibitions in Europe and the United States, where he has about 90,000 Instagram followers.
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