• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tokyo Times

Photographs from a small group of islands

  • Photowalks
  • Book and Prints
  • Newsletter
  • Portfolio
  • About/Contact
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Jun 27 2018 16 Comments

The dark corners of Tokyo

dark corners of Tokyo

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Denton says

    6/27/2018 at 9:53 am

    This is such a powerful image to me. The colors, textures and framing are perfect. So sad but very well done. I’m impressed!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/27/2018 at 6:36 pm

      Thank you. Not exactly a nice image, but good to hear it had an impact.

      Reply
  2. Linda says

    6/27/2018 at 10:25 am

    So sad and yet so perfectly composed. I probably ought to say something deep about finding beauty in tragedy but I’m too distracted by the amazing textures in that wall.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/27/2018 at 6:46 pm

      Thanks. That wall really is something, isn’t it? I’ve walked passed it countless times and marvelled at its patterns and textures. Until this moment, however, there had never been anybody in front of it to make a worthwhile image. A scene with less sorrow would have been my choice, but at least it does show a different side of Tokyo. A not very nice side admittedly, but like all cities, Tokyo has a lot of sides that aren’t nice…

      Reply
  3. Harry says

    6/27/2018 at 3:55 pm

    Wow. This is so sad but there’s so much to appreciate about it. I’m with Linda on the wall. The poor guy’s sleeping position too……..

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/27/2018 at 6:47 pm

      Thank you. That’s good to hear. The decision to take such photos is often a tricky one, so hopefully those elements mean it was the right one.

      Reply
  4. john says

    6/27/2018 at 9:14 pm

    I hope there are while you wait dry cleaners for emergency nappers.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/28/2018 at 10:31 am

      Don’t know about while you wait, but Japan has more dry cleaners than I’ve seen in any other country. They are everywhere…

      Reply
  5. Tobias Hollender says

    6/28/2018 at 3:29 am

    Incredible. Really, the colors, the composition – such a good shot!
    (Which neighborhood is this?)

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/28/2018 at 10:33 am

      Thank you very much. Despite the terribly sad subject matter, it’s a shot I’m very happy with. It all came together very nicely.

      This is in Shinjuku. On the edge of Kabukicho.

      Reply
  6. cdilla says

    6/28/2018 at 7:36 pm

    Another thought provoking photograph.
    That’s such a bleak scene.
    The wall is so inky. It looks as if it leached all the colour out of the guys clothes.
    If I crop out the top portion of the wall it would make a great screen background, but I’d always know there was that guy lting just beneath.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      6/28/2018 at 8:21 pm

      Thanks.

      Yeah, it really is, isn’t it? I’ve walked past that wall on countless occasions, each and every time marvelling at its colours and textures. But similarly for me, I’ll now always associate it with the poor fella in the corner…

      Reply
  7. Hana Manag says

    6/30/2018 at 7:53 pm

    A well-composed and attractive photograph, yes.

    Not sure, however, whether the sleeping man is there because he’s homeless and/or impoverished, or because he drank too much and missed the last train home. If the latter, this is an encouragingly reassuring photo: that there are still ultramodern, first-world cities in which a man can lie down to sleep on the street without being robbed, beaten, murdered or even arrested by one or more of the other millions of people who live there.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/1/2018 at 4:22 pm

      Thanks.

      This fella I’m almost certain was there cos sadly he has no choice. Photographed plenty of drunks and this was definitely different. Talking of which, it is possible for people to safely sleep off an evening on the street in Tokyo. It happens a lot. So much so in fact that I have a whole series of such photos: https://leechapman.photos/the-drunk

      Reply
  8. Hana Manag says

    7/1/2018 at 10:00 pm

    Ah, then, yes, it’s a beautiful photograph of a man in sad situation.
    Thank you for the link to your portfolio, which I somehow neglected to look at on my first visit. What a stunning, profoundly affecting collection. I only wish it were a book! The images (and what they convey) are mesmerizing. I will pore over and remember them for a long, long time.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      7/2/2018 at 8:50 am

      You are very welcome, and thank you so much for the kind words. Really nice to hear.

      Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Footer

Copyright © 2025 · Tokyo Times