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Apr 29 2016 14 Comments

Knife-wielding, hoodie wearing, Tsukiji fish market worker

When it’s busy at work and not being bothered is a priority, wearing a hoodie and wielding a massive knife would appear to be a worryingly good move.

knife wielding tsukiji fish market worker

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Al says

    4/29/2016 at 3:08 pm

    Ha, that’s a scary look!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/29/2016 at 5:45 pm

      Yeah, amazing what a difference the hood makes. Although with a knife that size, I guess most people would like at least a little bit on the scary side…

      Reply
  2. cdilla says

    4/29/2016 at 6:40 pm

    What jumped out first was not the guy wielding the knife byt the one wielding a postit – bizarrely I recognised him, I assume from the weekly Tsukiji Market TV series I’ve been watching this past year. But back to the main guy – I think he would make a worryingly good movie poster. Cut the frame around him, darken it, replace the tuna with another cut of meat and you’d be set. The sort of film Mrs cdilla would love, but me… not so much.
    Those knives are fiercesome. I am always awed when I see them use those metre long ones for quartering the big tuna.
    Is the new market site ready for the move? Any sign of the old one winding down yet?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/29/2016 at 9:25 pm

      Considering how many people work at the market, it’s an amazing coincidence that you recognise the fella. Small world eh?

      Yeah, those knives really are something. Perhaps even more so the ones that are almost sword-like. Not a place for temper tantrums that’s for sure.

      The move is towards the end of the year as far as I recall, so presumably the new site is well on its way to being ready. But in the meantime the old place is just as hectic and noisy as ever. Presumably it will be right to the end, unless the move is done in steps, although I’m not to sure how that would/could work.

      Reply
      • YTSL says

        4/29/2016 at 11:46 pm

        I’ve read that the market’s moving this November, which is why I’m heading over to Tokyo (for the first time since 2012) next month. Want to bid farewell to Tsukiji with one more sushi breakfast there!

        Reply
        • Lee says

          4/30/2016 at 10:13 am

          That’s a wise move. The new place will undoubtedly be just as bustling. Sure there’ll be places to eat and such too. But there won’t be the character of the current location. A unique place that will sadly be lost forever.

          Good timing too. Just before the heat and humidity really kicks in.

          Reply
      • cdilla says

        5/26/2016 at 10:06 pm

        I’ve just seen a repeat of the program I think I saw this guy in. Originally aired about a year ago. See if you think he’s the same guy 🙂
        https://twitter.com/Phyxr/status/735818832426741761

        Reply
        • Lee says

          5/27/2016 at 7:45 am

          That’s definitely him, isn’t it? Just a slightly younger version.

          Reply
          • cdilla says

            5/27/2016 at 3:31 pm

            He was only on for a few seconds in a shot of the early morning tuna auction so I’m suprised he made an impression at all, though Mrs cdilla thought he looked like Filipe Massa’s father (http://tinyurl.com/hypotle) who, being F1 fans, we see most F1 weekends.

            Reply
            • Lee says

              5/27/2016 at 5:07 pm

              I can definitely see the similarities.

              Similar looks, but very different lives.

  3. Tyler says

    4/30/2016 at 3:37 am

    Not sure if you intended to frame it as such, but the color balance is nicely done, with your reds and pinks on the right and bottom and darks intellect and top. Nicely framed!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      4/30/2016 at 10:17 am

      Thank you!

      I’d like to claim I did, but the colour balance was sheer luck. I wanted to have the fish in the foreground and the men all in the frame. Managed that, but everything else was sheer good fortune.

      Reply
  4. J. Izumi says

    5/2/2016 at 10:24 pm

    Lee, how early were you there?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/3/2016 at 10:15 am

      Not so early at all. About 9-ish. Admittedly some stalls were starting to pack up, but there was still plenty of activity.

      Reply

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