Photographs from a small group of islands
It’s often hard to know where Tokyo ends and another prefecture begins, as the concrete scenery of nondescript buildings seems to go on forever. The odd river or park the only gaps in the monotony of grey.
Yet after crossing one particular stretch of the Edo River in east Tokyo — rather aptly by the capital’s only man-powered ferry boat — it feels like entering a very different world.
In fact not just a different world, but also a different time.
In a time when religion’s influence on politics seems to be ever more insidious, and extremism is undeniably on the rise, the Japanese indifference to such matters is refreshing to say the least. And yet despite such a distinctly pragmatic approach, superstition still abounds. A factor that for many people arguably plays a much bigger role in temple and shrine visits than any particular belief.
Then of course there is the fairly common sight of fortune tellers and palm readers plying their trade on the nation’s streets. Now how much people believe what they are told is impossible to say, but at 1,000 yen a go, it’s probably more than a simple bit of fun. But how much more is anybody’s guess, although it’s clearly enough to keep a sizeable number of people in work.
Speculation aside, however, this man was at least being told something interesting for his money. Good or bad it’s tough to say. True or not, much less so.
Tokyo continually throws up contrasts — perhaps none more so than a traditional festival played out against a backdrop of urban modernity.
Yet an equally modern backside surrounded by customary festival clothing, is arguably even more arresting.
On a lovely sunny day, a few games of baseball with his father must have sounded like a lot of fun for this little fella. Yet the reality, of sorts, turned out to be far less appealing.
The almost warren-like nature of many parts of Tokyo makes it incredibly easy to get lost, not to mention sidetracked, as it’s often impossible to predict what’s round the next corner.
Not that it’s always something interesting of course. In fact invariably it isn’t. But when it is, photographs and further exploration are usually essential.
For starters from ground level.
And then if possible from above.
Which in this case at least allowed for a real sense of what Tokyo once was, and fortunately in a few places, still is.
