Elein Fleiss, Purple Journal’s editor-in-chief, speaks of Nakako Hayashi and her magazine Here and There: When I met Nakako Hayashi, she was still working for Hanatsubaki magazine. Then, in 2001 she decided to go on her own and started Here and There in the spring of 2002. The first issue came out in March of that year, and the moment I first saw it remains in my memory as an important event in the world of independent magazines.

Here and There is the magazine of one person. The fact that Nakako’s name is credited as the author on the cover is not an egocentric statement but reveals the spirit in which she makes it. Some people make films, others write books or make artworks, and Nakako makes a magazine. It is her personal work and in that sense she makes it in her own way, unlike most magazines on the planet. It also means she is free from capitalistic rules, from imposed trends, from the industry of fashion. Instead, she is free to follow her desire and to link the magazine with her personal life.