First published in 1993 after the collapse of Japan’s infamous bubble economy, photographer Kyoichi Tsuzuki’s book Tokyo Style showcases the unfiltered realities of a handful of ordinary people living in one of the world’s most fetishised cities. Unsettled by the misguided international perception of Tokyo’s 33 million-strong population living in uniformly minimalist, traditional Japanese homes, Tsuzuki spent more than two years traversing the many neighbourhoods of the country’s capital on his green Honda 5cc scooter in an extraordinary effort to capture authentic homes that he felt truly represented the city’s residents. ‘I had no choice but to buy my first large format camera, and since I did not have a car, I mounted my equipment on the foot of my scooter and rode around Tokyo for more than two years. That was my starting point as a photographer, and it seems like a small miracle that more than 30 years after its original publication, a new version of Tokyo Style is being released by Apartamento’. —Kyoichi Tsuzuki
Community Notes