documentary photography
Low-crime and a cash-based society could be why vending machines are prolific across the island country of Japan. The rainbow of machines offer colorful goods: sake, toiler paper, rice, ties, toys, costumes and paper fortunes.
(photograph taken in Kyoto, Japan)
This temple was situated in the center of a flea market hidden among pottery stands and tables strewn with a kaleidoscope of vintage kimonos. Onlookers would stop to peek and locals would stop to pray while the monk silently went about his prayer rituals.
(photographs taken in Kyoto, Japan)
These students were lining up to take a photo near the Hiroshima Museum. What struck me was not just the calm order in which this was occurring, but also that the children were silent as they moved into their positions.
(photograph taken in Hiroshima, Japan)
I came across these locals who stopped to pray on the steps of a monk temple, while the monk prayed in the face of fire. The temple was situated deep in the arteries of the local flea market.
Like many of the locals, the glowing, flickering lights tugged at my curiosity like an arcade lulls an 80s girl with a roll of quarters in the front pocket of her Levi’s. In Japan, people spend upwards of $200 billion a year playing their luck on the upright pinball game, Pachinko. These smoky parlors punctuate most city blocks. Cigarettes. Headphones. Smartphones. Each helps pass the time while navigating the neon flashes in cartoon shapes — some are suggestive animations — that dance across the screens to electronic clinks. Windfalls stream into plastic buckets in the form of small steel balls that can be exchanged for yen.
(photographs taken in Osaka, Japan at Pachinko Parlors)
The word kimono often conjures up an image of the draping, cinched-at-the-waist attire, often with patterns of delicate blossoms, that Japanese women might wear. Kimono is a Japanese word which translates to “thing to wear”: ki meaning “wear” and mono meaning “thing.” These women are cloaked in yukatas, a summer, lighter version of the traditional kimono.
I was struck by the juxtaposition of the modern — technology — with the traditional — yukatas — in this scene. The ladies were hypnotized by their mobile phones at a street intersection, loosely anticipating the traffic light signaling them to cross..
(photograph taken in Kyoto, Japan near the Sagano Bamboo Forest)
Japanese students flocked in neat lines and formal uniforms to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, likely as part of a field trip. The students were incredibly well behaved — remaining quiet and alert— as the teacher or tour leader spoke with them. This particular student kept looking back at me, an American in Hiroshima.
(photograph taken at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, Japan)
Draped in a kimono and heavy makeup, this young woman traveled with a clutch of men who lugged clunky camera equipment. She and her entourage parked themselves along the banks of the river. Like a fan in a city apartment, she oscillated from one side to the other as the men snapped photos and suggested poses.
(photograph taken in Arashiyama district of western Kyoto, Japan)