In "Names of Rain," Yukio Sakaue focuses on the beauty of a rainy day. As Sakaue mentions in his afterword, the Japanese language has different names for different kinds of rain, from kosame (light rain) to kirisame (foggy rain) to harusame (spring rain). But in his photographs of rural towns, overgrown concrete structures, and vegetation, each instance of rain becomes its own event, transforming the world into a gentler, calmer place, at least until the sun comes out again.

“Sometimes, I find the cold rain charming […]
Rain can help fade small coffee-stain-like memories.
I aspire to be like the spring rain every day.”
— from Yukio Sakaue’s afterword