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Mar 25 2022 10 Comments

A certain image of Tokyo and the much harsher reality

A certain image of Tokyo and the much harsher reality

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Günter says

    3/25/2022 at 9:59 am

    This is a very powerful photograph. I watched Astro Boy when I was young so I felt nostalgia and sadness.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/25/2022 at 7:55 pm

      Thank you. Only something I’m aware of rather than having watched, but it definitely provided quite a contrast that’s for sure…

      Reply
  2. Arne Anka says

    3/25/2022 at 3:32 pm

    The streak of sunlight is just perfect! But yes, it’s a harsh reality…

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/25/2022 at 7:56 pm

      Yes, it really is. What prompted me to take the photo. Seemed to further emphasise that horrible reality.

      Reply
  3. cdilla says

    3/25/2022 at 7:04 pm

    What a wonderful piece of nested art. A manga artist releases his creations into the world. 70 years later another artist creates a magnificent wall installation in homage to that, and today you release your photograph of its incongruous location. Each layer adds to the whole.
    I love the representation of Tezuka in the middle. My Astro Boy approves. Ultimately though, here, and now, thoughts linger on the sad bundle underpinning the scene.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/25/2022 at 8:02 pm

      The plight of the man on the floor and the sunlight coming down really did add another dimension to it. I’ve passed by many times and enjoyed seeing it, but when I glanced over when changing trains it all suddenly looked so different…

      Reply
  4. Richard says

    3/25/2022 at 8:21 pm

    A powerful sample of being ‘in the right place at the right time.’ Sadly, the guy on the ground is anything but ‘right.’ Thanks for pointing out the harsh as of yet unresolved realities of our so called affluence.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/26/2022 at 10:12 am

      Thanks. Yes, a bit before or after and the light wouldn’t have been the same. Yeah, utterly impossible to imagine how hard his life must be. Japan is a wealthy country, but just like so many others, there is also an awful lot of poverty…

      Reply
  5. J Panda says

    3/26/2022 at 5:58 pm

    Can some one explain why this desertion, isolation and utter destitution.. In 1990s, Japan was the second largest economy in the world. Sad. Is a different type of democracy required or a new religion or solidarity groups?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      3/27/2022 at 11:54 am

      Japan’s economic star may well have faded somewhat, but it’s still a very rich country by any standards, so this kind of poverty — and this is not an exception by any means — could be eradicated. The fact that it hasn’t been, and is seemingly more or less ignored, speaks volumes. A democracy where the same party hasn’t been ruling almost completely uninterrupted since the war would be a start, but therein lies the problem, there’s no sign of that changing at all…

      Reply

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