Lee

Six years ago I took this photograph.

It’s an image I hold incredibly dear. The brief connection, the house and the abundance of life on display made pressing the shutter very special indeed. Yet while it was special then, it feels even more precious now.

That extra significance came about a couple of years ago, when I passed by again and was shocked to find the building empty and devoid of life.

Fast forward another two years, and it’s now an even sadder sight. Age, its wooden nature and no maintenance whatsoever mean the structure is in a terribly bad way to say the least.

So bad in fact that growing gaps in the walls and windows allowed me to take a few shots inside. An interior that due to Mother Nature making inroads, has developed a kind of decaying beauty. Something about that sink really does appeal. But mostly — just like this bar from a few months ago — the overriding feeling is one of silence, as well as complete and utter emptiness. A place that despite its incredibly ramshackle nature, was once very much a home, whereas now it is little more than a forlorn looking shell.

Today is a national holiday in Japan. It’s Taiiku no Hi to be exact, or Sports Day, which is usually in mid-October, but it was understandably brought forward this year in order to celebrate the first competitive day of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Or at least what would have been the first competitive day of the Olympics.

Instead, it’ll just be another day — a day similar to so many of late. Like the one below in touristy Asakusa last weekend. A spot where up until recently it would have been packed beyond belief, and beyond even that the week before the Olympics. But these days it’s almost like the ghost of the Games haunts what now feels like a sightseeing ghost town.

This shop and home has apparently been standing for over 60 years. I know that as the owner told me. A man who was just out of frame on the right; very wisely sat reading in front of his neighbour’s house rather than his own.