Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

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Japanese woman with tattoos

Traditional Japanese tattoos and their artists may well be revered in many other parts of the world, but that’s generally not the case in Japan itself — the association with organised crime turning many against them. Yet at the same time, no distinction at all is made between such obvious forms of body art, and the modern, far more fashion-based variations that are so prevalent in other regions. The likes of spas, sports clubs and swimming pools still operate blanket bans, and Osaka’s right-wing governor, Toru Hashimoto, even tried to have public employees with tattoos removed. And if not the person, then at least their tattoo.

However, while institutions and a large chunk of the population remain stuck in the past, attitudes among younger Japanese are gradually changing. Over the last few years in particular, more and more tattoos have become visible — sported by both male and female alike. The vast majority of whom aren’t in any way shy of showing them off.

Japanese woman with tattoos

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Japanese summer fashion: the sun visor

With the temperature in Tokyo gradually rising, parasols are once again a standard sight on the city’s streets. And, for women of a certain age, it’s also time to dig out the somewhat sinister, almost Darth Vader-like, sun visor. An item that darkens the face as effectively as a furtive photograph does looks.

Japanese sun visor summer fashion

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A long-abandoned and wonderfully untouched old Japanese clinic

In rural Japan, ramshackle wooden structures are commonplace, but few of them are as interesting as the long-abandoned H-Clinic.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Details are relatively scarce about when it was built, but the general consensus seems to be somewhere around the end of the Taisho period, or the beginning of Showa — so probably some time in the 1920s. And walking through the building’s decaying wooden rooms really is like stepping back in time. Perhaps not quite as far back as the 20s or 30s, but most certainly the post-war era.

There are the medical concerns.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Along with the medicine and apparatus used to treat them. Some of which are fascinatingly archaic.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Whereas others seem more akin to a laboratory than a clinic.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Although this photograph leaves no doubt about the building’s use, and the occupation of its owner.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Like the structure itself, little is known about the doctor, but as well as running his own medical facility, his old business card states he also held a position at a Red Cross hospital.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

And as far as personal details go, we do know that he lived in the clinic with his wife and daughter. The deceptively large structure doubling as both a home and medical centre.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Upstairs there are now only simple, sparsely decorated bedrooms, although the way up there isn’t anywhere near as secure as it once was.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

There was perhaps also a study of sorts, as there is still no shortage of books.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

The downstairs living quarters, however, still give a real sense of how the doctor and his family lived. Decor-wise, the kitchen, like the clinic, is very dated.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

The living room on the other hand is a real mishmash of eras and design. And in this area in particular, the sense of quietness and the slow passage of time that is so much a part of exploring abandoned buildings — whether they be once opulent homes, mountain schools or whole villages — is most apparent.

No noise from the TV.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

No chatting either.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Plus like many Japanese homes, there is a butsudan, or Buddhist altar, where respects were once dutifully paid to ancestors and lost family members.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

This also has further significance, as the wife was a committed devotee of Soka Gakkai, a lay Buddhist group with huge political and financial clout. The certificate on the wall offering gratitude for efforts in spreading the word, and the portraits are of the current president, and founder of Soka Gakkai International, Daisaku Ikeda.

abandoned old Japanese clinic

Interestingly, in the same photograph, the calendar on display is from 2002. A surprisingly recent date considering the distinctly rundown nature of the building. Other, slightly contradictory reports, have suggested that the old lady and her daughter lived there until about 20 years ago, but even then it’s still hard to imagine someone being resident in the mid 1990s.

What is for sure, however, is that nobody lives in the clinic now, and the building is slowly going the way of its former owners, and indeed all other things.

abandoned old Japanese clinic