Hideaki Kobayashi, or GrowHair as he is also known, has become a celebrity of sorts due to his love of wearing sailor suit schoolgirl uniforms. A man whose courage to hit the streets on his terms has to be applauded. Plaudits too for the city around him. There’s no judgement. No mean-spirited comments. Just enjoyment at the spectacle of a middle-aged man living life in a manner that suits him, not society.
Having seen photos of him online numerous times, I’d often thought it’d be interesting to get a picture of him doing something more pedestrian than his usual pose. And as luck would have it, the first and only time I’ve ever seen him he was doing just that. Inadvertently creating a scene that’s boringly ordinary, and also wonderfully out of the ordinary.
Denton says
Haha, so cool! 🙂 That’s a great moment. Nice legs too!
Lee says
It was. After a long walk I was just about to get on the train home, so this made for a wonderful send off!
Al says
Ha, what a guy! 🙂 Thanks to him (and you 😉 ) for making me smile!
Lee says
He really is. More power to him. And all the credit goes to him, all I had to do was press a shutter. He made the picture all by himself.
pierredr says
i know this man he is Photographer he came manga convention in france
Lee says
Yes, I saw some of his work when researching him. He photographs some very unsettling looking dolls. Not at all what I was expecting, which is always refreshing.
cdilla says
Although not obvious to me at first, he is looking right at (or through) you. I wonder what his thoughts were.
Hi pose is great. Many a time I’d stop at a station entrance/exit like that and pause to consider whether it was the right one. So ordinary.
I have seen him a couple of times in videos of games or cosplay conferences.
Such eccentrics often enrich our lives. For many years there was an elderly bearded guy who wore a striking outfit and hefted big walking stick. Wherever he went he immitated bird calls. Never knew why – whether it was to amuse/confuse people or just himself. Kinda miss him now he gone.
And there is, of course, Stephen Gough, someone who has spent nine years in jail simply because he doesn’t want to wear any clothes at all. I wonder if he would be tolerated more or less in Japan.
Lee says
He was waiting for somebody. Or at least that’s how it seemed. When I came up the steps towards the ticket gates he was there, looking like he is in the photo. A gaze that never changed even when I briefly lifted the camera. So I’m pretty sure he didn’t notice me at all. But yeah, whatever he was doing, it was wonderfully mundane. The complete opposite of his outfit.
Completely agree. Such people make the world a far better place. I’d had a long, but fruitless (at least photography wise) walk, and got caught in the rain. Then just before I hoped on the train back home, there he was. A sight that made my day.
Ah, the naked rambler. Saw a documentary about him. Some of the abuse he got was awful. Utterly unwarranted too. And that’s nothing to the jail time… He’s hardly doing any harm. Just living his life. Good question. Not at all sure to be honest. Perhaps tolerated more by the general public, but not by the law?
MrSatyre says
Suddenly, Miyazaki realized he wasn’t dreaming…
Lee says
Haha! That made me chuckle and shudder at the same time.