Pigs get a bad rap — they’re generally portrayed as, in the immortal words of Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction, “a filthy animal.” It’s not really fair, though. They’re intelligent, sensitive creatures, and the more I read about them, the worse I feel about bacon. Their social side is on full display in these beautiful photos of a pig farmer by the name of Otchan, who looks after some 1,200 pigs at his farm in southern Japan. The images, which we found on Feature Shoot, are the work of photographer Toshiteru Yamaji, and appear in his self-published photo book, Pigs and Papa. They capture the bond between human and animal, and serve as a stark reminder that our food doesn’t have to be produced in hideous industrial farms.
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji
Photo credit: Toshiteru Yamaji