shashasha

While it’s been more than twenty years since moving to Tokyo, I’ve never grown tired of how, day by day, the city fluctuates and grows. But on the other hand, it has become hard to see the embodiment of our true humanity - perhaps this loss is a consequence of our unchecked modern urban proliferation.

Years ago, while I was photographing and living among nomads in Tibet I was struck by the way in which those there live and coexist powerfully with the earth. I honed this feeling through making portraits of the people I encountered. Compared with my experiences there I felt that, as photographic subjects, through the convenience of modern life the citizens of Tokyo lacked something that those in Tibet naturally possessed.

But was this really so?

Making an effort to observe Tokyo well, one should be able to discover those living strongly with the same radiance of human nature coexisting within the city. This belief led me to begin a daily attempt to seek out with my camera those who exist and thrive within their natural, yet urban, habitat.

Indeed, ten years have passed and in my eyes the dense sprawl of Tokyo is an ecosystem with magnificent circulation.