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Nov 04 2015 9 Comments

Japanese man who has lost his shirt

And a shirt that would seem to have been lost both literally and figuratively.

Japanese man who has lost his shirt

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tom says

    11/4/2015 at 4:41 pm

    Sad…. Good use of the store behind him.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      11/4/2015 at 8:31 pm

      Thanks. The shirt in the shop really emphasised his sadness. A cheap, standard bit of clothing that he simply couldn’t afford. Or indeed need.

      Reply
  2. cdilla says

    11/4/2015 at 7:27 pm

    The greyness of the guy reminds me of the Grey Scrubbers in Gormenghast taking on the hue of their surroundings and lifestyle.

    Bizarrely I think I found the location of this shot based on the pavement. Sounds very sad I know, but I plea serendipity. My backdrop runs a slideshow of all my Tokyo photos from when I visited. When I was reading your post it made one of it’s 10 minutely changes to a shot of the front of the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Shinjuku and the pavement design and general appearance was the same. So I pulled it up on Street View and wandered up and down for a bit and sure enough there is the Aoyama shirt shot a few hundred yards west.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      11/4/2015 at 8:34 pm

      Quite a coincidence eh? And quite some detective work too, as you are absolutely spot on. I’m impressed!

      Reply
  3. Coli says

    11/4/2015 at 8:06 pm

    Another stunning photo Lee. Love how you are able to come across these contrasts in life, however sad they may be. 1000 words here mate 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      11/4/2015 at 8:38 pm

      Thanks a lot, Coli. Very kind of you. One of those moments that Tokyo fortunately has a habit of throwing up. Walk for long enough and the city generally offers you some sort of reward.

      Reply
  4. Mr.Moi says

    11/4/2015 at 11:24 pm

    Used to watch him on a daily basis from my work window in Higashi Shinjuku 14 years ago. Tough to empathize with someone I’ve watched publicly defecate on multiple occasions. It’s a suprsingly simple act if you choose not to wipe. I pity that he is a victim of a short circuit in his head. Pretty sure he is more than happy being margalizied by society. His tats are new. Would love a close up shot of those.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      11/8/2015 at 1:46 pm

      Interesting to get a very different perspective. Seen him a few times myself, but fortunately not doing his business is public. Wonder which poor soul had to clean that up…?

      Him having new tattoos is a real surprise too. Not something you’d expect someone in his position to be acquiring.

      Reply
  5. Rita Barreiro says

    11/8/2015 at 12:17 pm

    ironic and iconic

    Reply

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