My funeral
A friend’s funeral
Not to cry after a death
with unexpressed gratitude
I will face them now
with “arigato.”
Note: arigato is an expression of thanks or gratitude in Japanese.
(Original Japanese poem)
自分の葬式
他人の葬式
死んでから
鳴いて感謝するよりも
向かい合った「ありがとう」を
私は選ぶ
Midnight parties are
sheer sadness
The taxi in front of me is
a mere pumpkin
Oh, pumkin, pumpkin
You are white tonight
(1990)
Note: In Japan, taxis come in a variety of colors: black, white, green, yellow, blue, etc.
真夜中の宴会は
ただの かなしみ
目の前のタクシーは
ただの かぼちゃ
かほちゃよ かぼちゃ
今日のは 白いな
Ah!
How vacant it is
Wonderously vacant
Incessently vacant
But, my heart,
That’s OK
It’s a blessing
And indeed better
For just a litte longer
Stay this way and behave
(1988)
(Original Japanese poem)
まあ
なんて からっぽ
みごとに からっぽ
ずっと からっぽ
でも
それでいいの 私のこころよ
それが なにより
ほんとに なにより
今しばらくは
そこでおとなしく しておいで
On the days I can approach people,
Everyone seems beautiful.
The air sparkles.
I don’t understand myself.
Why have I held onto this solitude?
(1987)
勇気の孤独
自分から 人に
話しかけることができた日は
どんな人も 美しく思える
大気が きらめいて見える
どうしたものか 自分よ
何もそこまで 孤独になるな
To the countless stars in the sky,
Does being round
make it easier for you
to travel through the universe?
Or, while on your travels,
did the universe beat you,
making you rounder and rounder?
Or, is it the space between us
that simply makes you appear round?
Is keeping a good distance your secret?
お星さまへ
天空にまします数々のお星さま
丸ければ
宇宙で うまくまわっていられますか？
それとも
まわっているうちに
あの手この手で 宇宙が
丸くしにかかってくるんですか
それとも
何でもかんでも
遠くにおいてしまえば
丸く見えてくるもんですか？
つまり
距離をおくってことですね
Starting today, our book Tsukiji: Tokyo Fish Market Suite will be on exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts. Please stop by and visit this wonderful museum.
If there was a defined edge to the city of Tokyo, this would be it. Tokyo Gate Bridge is the furthest public highway built out into Tokyo bay. The island on the horizon is Chuo Bohatei, Tokyo’s largest landfill, which is reaching the edge of the municipality’s border. This image is from Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. The image is also an optical illusion: can you tell if the bridge piers are getting thinner or taller the further away they are? Click on the image for a larger view.
The levee along Edogawa or Edo river is 10m or 30 ft. above the river course. The land on the other side is near sea level. The population density for this Tokyo ward is 13,900 people/km² or 35,900 people/sq. mi. Millions of people are protected from riverine flooding by these structures. This image is from Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tsukiji: Tokyo Fish Market Suite was selected for the 8th Annual Photobook Show at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA. We are very excited by this honor. This and other independent photobooks will be on display from March 8th to April 1st, 2018.
Press image ©Elena Tutatchikova
We are very excited about attending this year’s Tokyo Art Book Fair. Naomi will be there to sign books. Our table will be in the self-publishers section. Please stop by to say hello.
