A moment when suddenly nothing seemed to make sense anymore?
Tokyo Times is owned and run by me, Lee Chapman, a long-term resident of Tokyo who arrived in 1998 for ‘a year or two’, and, for a myriad of reasons, stayed put.
Japan means many things to many people, but Tokyo Times is how I see it. The places. The people. The day-to-day situations. All of it shot using a Leica, a Nikon and a selection of lenses.
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Copyright © 2013 · Tokyo Times
What gets me is no one, at least from the photograph, appears to be giving the blue wigged man(??) a second look.
That certainly seemed to be the case. In fact with my pale face and camera, I got more looks!
“Only by wearing this costume do I create the negation of not wearing this costume. My actions have led to their own destruction. Eventually I will take off the costume and its absence will haunt me.”
Alternatively:
“Why can’t she just accept me the way I am?”
I do hope it’s not the latter, as he’s a man way braver than me that’s for sure.
Great photo… it leaves you guessing (and in my case, wondering what his shoes were like!)
Thanks!
I’m afraid to say it’ll have to remain a mystery too. Never had chance to see his shoes. But sometimes imagination is best!
We’re through the looking glass here, people. How オタク can one get
‘Through the looking glass’ is a very good way of putting it!
If the dude didn’t look so depressed I wouldn’t mind, regardless of the apparel.
But… maybe it was one of those camera-only moments…secreted to the milliseconds between facial expressions…
I
Nah, it was wasn’t one of those moments I’m afraid. He looked like that before and after I took the photo.
Either it’s just accepted as he’s local, or he’s so strange and jarring that they just naturally ignore him-
(depending on the towns, I’ve seen far stranger and noted that everyone else just took it as the norm… I think I only noticed because I was new in town)
Of course, people could just be accepting that he’s on his way to work
As it was taken in Shinjuku, he could well have been on his way to work. Somehow though it didn’t seem that way.
Not 100% sure but it look’s like this guy who talked about cross dressing. http://en.rocketnews24.com/2012/11/03/16-things-i-learned-from-dressing-in-drag-confessions-of-a-one-night-crossdresser/
Cheers for the link. Interesting article. Personally I don’t think it’s the same person, although I could be wrong.
I just love the fact that people can express themselves as they like ,especially through fashion, and not be judged..You may think its weird, but to them… its not….Maybe on the liberating side!!…Im sure after 11 years in Japan you would be use to this eccentric way by now. It never gets old or boring…and as my daughter has learnt at school’Our differences make us special”. Its all about non judgment isnt it!..Makes your job as a photographer all the more interesting I would say.
It does. And yes, it never gets boring. Surprises such as this are one of the constant joys of walking around Tokyo.
Strangely enough though, it wasn’t his unfit, but his expression that prompted me to take the photo. The bright, larger than life costume just seemed to emphasise his awfully sad look…
PS; Your images are amazing. You have a great eye, and you portray emotion and feeling. Thats hard to achieve with photography. im sure your inspired every day. Thankyou for the insight and your perspective.
Thank you very much!
I love your pictures go on your site on and off for years now, and spend a lot of time going through what I missed. You are so very talented you really really are. What I want ti ask is how you got this picture. I do not have a high tech or even newer camera, and I lack the knowledge on what can be done with them! At first I thought you Photoshopped this, Which seems like a most likely scenario. Everyone is out of focus, even the girl with her back to the camera closer than he is and everyone else. Most of all the scenery of the streets. Regardless it’s a lovely picture, cleaver and artful, you caught an expression of deep thought, melancholy or ? and the surrounding blurs of different levels really makes this surreal. “Existential cosplay crisis” is a perfect title for this.
Thank you very much.
It isn’t Photoshopped. Pretty much all I did with the image was alter the colours a bit and up the contrast. Everything is a bit blurred as we were both moving at the time it was taken. I just had enough time to lift up my camera and get the shot. Fortunately getting the man pretty much in focus.
Luckily for me the blur and sense of movement add an extra dimension to the shot, giving it a further element touch of the slightly unreal. Something I’d like to claim I planned, but I didn’t.