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Tokyo, in fourteen frames

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Tokyo, in fourteen frames

Bharat Chugh

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Tokyo, in fourteen frames

Seven days of walking, reading and noticing.

  • Warmly lit Morioka Shoten storefront with a bicycle against the dark brick façade.
    01 / 14Morioka ShotenA bookstore devoted to one title at a time. Focus, craftsmanship, and the value of fewer things.
  • A rain-wet wooden bridge crosses a garden pond beneath Tokyo’s high-rise skyline.
    02 / 14Room for natureGardens and ponds alongside space-age towers. Tradition and modernity, with room for nature.
  • A rain-wet pavement between autumn-red leaves and green trees, with tall buildings behind.
    03 / 14Autumn, on footRed leaves, wet pavements, and a quieter stretch of the city.
  • Black-and-white photograph of a child sculpture among shrubs beside a city street.
    04 / 14Small encountersA small figure beside the road, easy to pass without noticing.
  • A large torii gate and shrine entrance beneath a cloud-filled sky, photographed in black and white.
    05 / 14RemembranceThe spirit outlasting its mortal role. A difficult reflection at a shrine honouring the war dead, including convicted war criminals.
  • Gold and white paper slips tied to horizontal cords in front of large metal lanterns.
    06 / 14Tied in paperPrayers tied in paper, left to the wind to carry.
  • Black-and-white photograph of a five-storey pagoda behind branches and a stone lantern.
    07 / 14Through the branchesA pagoda, bare branches, and long shadows.
  • A weathered robed statue with joined palms and a circular halo, lit against a dark background.
    08 / 14A face in the lightJoined palms, worn surfaces, and a face held in the light.
  • A detailed pale figurine of a woman and child in patterned robes, displayed against a plain background.
    09 / 14In the detailsA patterned robe, a small vessel, a child's face. Craftsmanship at close quarters.
  • Looking down a wooden staircase lined with bookshelves and arching timber ribs inside the Murakami Library.
    10 / 14Murakami at WasedaFour books read: Kafka on the Shore, After Dark, Men Without Women and Killing Commendatore.
  • Looking up the book-lined stairs beneath curved timber ribs inside the Murakami Library.
    11 / 14The next chapterInside the Murakami Library, Waseda University. Now reading The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
  • Lantern-lit restaurants and closely spaced outdoor tables at Shibuya Yokocho, beneath tall buildings at night.
    12 / 14Shared solitudeLights, good food, strangers seated shoulder to shoulder. Expensive real estate, or shared solitude?
  • A violet-grey night sky above illuminated buildings and a pedestrian crossing in Ginza.
    13 / 14After DarkA mysterious sky above Ginza. Reading Murakami, with Tokyo outside the page.
  • Black-and-white portrait of Bharat standing among trees and rocks, with a statue behind him.
    14 / 14Yours truly, signing off.

Swipe, or use the arrows to move through fourteen frames.

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