A little girl, ever so briefly lost in the lovely colours of spring.
The plush interior of the wonderful Daikanyama T-Site may well be a world away from Moriyama Daido’s usual haunt of the decidedly less glamorous, and far more gritty, Shinjuku. But, on Monday night, in a quiet corner of the vast bookshop, this giant of Japanese street photography was signing his new book, Okinawa.
Somewhat predictably, the staff made sure that the event itself was far more regimented than Moriyama’s photographic style, but at the same time that didn’t dampen the obvious respect on display — from both sides of the table.
At the weekend in particular, Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park offers the visitor such a vast array of sights and sounds that it’s hard to be genuinely surprised by anything anymore. An attribute that means musicians, cosplayers and entertainers of all descriptions are not only commonplace, but what one comes to expect. And yet despite this, zombies, on a Saturday afternoon, did raise the odd eyebrow or two.
A small band of marauding living dead who, despite the rather antisocial behaviour of begging for brains, did still have the decency to be impeccably dressed.
Just over a week ago, the last of Japan’s 54 nuclear power plants was shut down; a process that took almost 14 months.
Primarily they were taken offline to conduct safety tests, but huge public opposition also played its part. A role that will be even more of a factor in the future when it comes to deciding which, if any of the reactors, should be restarted.
Unusually rare and vocal protest that it’d be nice to think could next be aimed directly at Tepco, the corrupt culprit behind the meltdown. Then there’s the ageing and faceless suits that are running Japan, as well as running it into the ground. Not to mention the equally old men who provide jobs for the boys, and not the girls.
Unfortunately, however, it’s hard to see any of that happening, and this fist may sadly be the only one raised to fight the powers that be.
Seeing an old lady looking after a load of goldfish with a parrot on her shoulder is definitely not an everyday sight. Or at least it’s not if you don’t live anywhere near an old lady who sells fish and has a parrot.
But add to that the rather forlorn appearance of said pet, along with it looking about the same age as its owner, and the pair are even more unusual.
And yet seeing the two of them so quiet and content in each other’s company was arguably even more striking — not to mention touching.
