Looking at old photos is something I find infinitely fascinating. The combination of photography and history is utterly irresistible, and for me at least that’s especially true when it comes to images from Japan. However, despite having spent the last two decades here, when peering into the country’s past, it invariably has the feel of a completely different world — particularly so the further one goes back. That said, the one thing that always strikes me, and this is the case wherever the images are from, is the impossible to escape thought that all the people in the photos are now dead. Something I discussed recently with a friend, and it was reassuring to know it isn’t just me who sees things like this, although at the same time I have no idea how common such thoughts actually are.
The reason I mention this is that due to the older areas of Tokyo I like to photograph, along with the individuals I’m often drawn to, that element of looking back at people no longer alive has started to become a reality in my own work. A generation of buildings and their residents are rapidly disappearing, so what initially started out as simply photographing what interests me, has unintentionally evolved into a document of not only a disappearing way of life, but also a disappearance of actual lives. An unexpected outcome that is incredibly sobering, resulting in images that now mean far more to me than I ever imagined they would. Small documents that have become like those aforementioned historical photos, only these ones are not only form a world I know, but one that in many ways I’m a part of.
All of which I hope makes some kind of sense. A rather long-winded meander trying to make a point that the photographs manage more poignantly. So here they are. More than likely only a small selection of what I have, but from a mixture of conversations and messages, I’ve since found out that the people below are sadly no longer with us.
YesterdaysHero says
Oh man these are so very poignant. I sometimes think the same as you Lee but the cycle of life stops for no one. At least these people lived long lives and a part of that lives on in your photographs.
Lee says
Thanks ever so much. That’s really kind of you and lovely to hear. But yes, it is the natural way of things. None of us are here forever.
Denise says
So sad but so beautiful……… 🙁
Lee says
Thank you, but yes, very sad.
cdilla says
Such depth to your words and photographs. From smiles to weariness. My soundtrack for this collection
https://youtu.be/8T1j3fEY-o4
Richard says
Lovely music!
Lee says
Thanks a lot. It was good to write about this rather than just show the photos. And thanks. A very good accompaniment.
Richard says
A poignant collection, thank you. Have you considered doing an exhibition of these in a gallery? It would be a great show.
Thanks,too, for sharing your thoughts about these people. As some of my contemporaries have passed away in the last few years such ideas occur to me more often nowadays.
Best wishes
Lee says
Thanks a lot, and you are very welcome. I’m lucky to have met these people and got a photo of them in the process. Very sorry to hear you have lost some friends over the last few years. Life doesn’t get any easier as we get older, does it?
And thanks. I have thought about an exhibition, but never seriously. Not yet, anyway. I would be lovely to do one at some point though.
Richard says
Thank you but I am at that stage in life where one has to expect that people in your life will die. Not easy to accept this but it is part of living.
I am serious about you doing an exhibition of shots like these. More people in the world should see your work!
Lee says
Yes, it really is. Nothing any of us can do but try and accept it.
Thanks ever so much. That is very kind of you. Hopefully someday it will happen.
Once an expat says
Others may disagree, but looking at these faces, I believe these represent Japan’s version of The Greatest Generation’. That given the times they have lived through and witnessed, they still collectively overcame and built the Japan the younger generation enjoy.
Lee says
That’s a very good point and one I hadn’t really thought about. But yes, considering what they went through, and then overcame, it’s hard to disagree.
Darryl says
Thanks for sharing, Lee. These are beautiful photos, and this is exactly why I love photography so much. Like many, I assume, I get more from these photos than I would from even videos. You managed to capture such perfect, fleeting moments. I could look at these all day, letting my imagination run wild wondering what was going on in their lives, what they were thinking.
Lee says
You are very welcome, and thanks ever so much for those incredibly kind words. What you said is everything and more I could ever hope to achieve when taking a photograph, so to read that was genuinely lovely.