It could be because the majority of residents rigourously abide by the rules, or perhaps finding a public place without any people is practically impossible, but either way, graffiti in Tokyo doesn’t seem to be as widespread as it is in other parts of the world.
Of course that’s not to say that there isn’t any to be seen, although somewhat disappointingly, in a land famed for its meticulously drawn manga, a lot of the stuff that is on display isn’t exactly inventive.
And, despite certain declarations, is decidedly deficient of drama.
Not that such details have deterred the odd serious, and somehow celebrated, street artist.
However, given a bit of time and space, a few of the less famous do make a real effort,
and their resultant masterpieces may well have some merit.
Plus, rather surprisingly, there is possibly even protest,
along with the odd positive, but ultimately impossible, plea.
(click images for gargantuan graffiti)
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I would pay to have the “real effort” graffiti on my wall.
These are all in English–is there no graffiti in Japanese? Kanji or hiragana?
There is Jared, although a huge amount of it does appear to be in English.
Haven’t a clue why.
Thats cool Lee, em there’s a book on Japanese Graffiti you might like, its called “Rackgaki”. Its very, very good. Most of the work as you said is in English, but there’re just some amazing pieces.
Cheers for the tip Jonathan, I’ll look out for that.
haha i was in japan couple weeks ago. I saw the neck face one. i forgot where in tokyo i was though…
With the exception of the Neck Face one, where did you find the others? (This includes the sequel post)
Apart from the top two Ste, they were all from bridges along the Tamagawa.
I know this article is a bit old, but anyone who is interested in Graffiti in Tokyo, I run a site http://www.illblend.com which shows all kinds of graffiti , gritty or artistic, found in Tokyo.
BTW: Great site. I check it out when I have time. Keep up the good work!