Photography

Some days are still really quite warm, but there’s finally a genuine sense of autumn in Tokyo, and along with more comfortable temperatures comes some truly wonderful light. The angle and intensity of it is mercifully a world away from that of the summer, so once again it allows for photos like the capture below.

The man, along with the contrast of light and shadow, reminded me of a documentary I’ve mentioned on Tokyo Times before, The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief. A film that for now at least is available on YouTube, and after not seeing it for a long time, a re-watch reminded me of what an informative hour and a bit of viewing it really is.

Shinjuku’s Kabukicho red light district has fascinated me for a long time, and while it has certainly changed and been reduced in size over the years, it’s still an incredibly interesting place to walk around. Like so many others, however, I merely observe — passing through with some knowledge of the area, but little in the way of any real insight into the lives and experiences of those who actually earn their livings there. As such, I can say with reasonable certainty that the man in the photo is a host, but until watching the aforementioned film, I had no real idea of what working in a host club entailed, and even less sense of the surprisingly important part it plays in the lives of the young women who spend their time and money in such establishments. A documentary that does a remarkably honest and often tender job of showing those aspects, plus at the same time it says an awful lot about Japanese society as a whole, and in many ways the human condition itself. Elements that this photo can only try and hint at.

This week my wife would have celebrated her 44th birthday. The fact that Akiko isn’t here to do so is still hard to fully grasp, although that isn’t anywhere near as hard as day-to-day life without her. Feelings that aren’t going to change any time soon either, as it’s only a little over 3 months since she died. A period that has felt unreal, and at the same time all too real, as it’s simply impossible not to think about all the meals and conversations we should have enjoyed — not to mention all the similar times we will now never have. Constant, utterly uncontrollable thoughts of what was, and also what might have been. Thoughts that are currently more acute than ever, and yet thoughts that in a slightly more positive way brought me back to the photo below.

It’s an image that somehow seems to encapsulate the past and the present in one simple frame, creating a moment of hope and loss, memory and reality. It was also Akiko’s favourite photo of mine. One she helped create as well, as seeing my original edit, she immediately shook her head and said, “Nah, it has be in black and white”. She was absolutely right of course, as those previously mentioned elements only really work in monochrome — a collaborative approach that now makes the image even more special. Sadly we will never grow old together like the couple briefly captured, but we were lucky enough to be as content as they look, so as time goes on, those memories will hopefully make the present reality that little bit more manageable.

Recently there’s been no shortage of photos on these pages documenting houses that have been demolished. There was a whole host of them in this series, and a single, very poignant loss in this post. Such scenes aren’t exaggerations either, as a lot of old Tokyo is very rapidly disappearing, but for now at least, there’s thankfully still a lot to see. Like the house below for example. The shape and corrugated exterior make it as wonderfully ordinary as so many others, and yet on this particular day, the light and the owner’s colour coordinated outfit made it that little bit more special.

The use of child seat equipped bicycles is a regular, everyday sight in Tokyo. A similar, albeit more improvised approach for transporting the elderly, on the other hand, isn’t anywhere near as common. And yet seeing these two chat away as they wound their way through the streets made me think that maybe it should be.