KOJI ONAKA - THE MATATABI LIBRARY#4 / TOKYO '80S

Back then, I didn't make much money but I did have a lot of time on my hands. I didn't have the cash to go on travels so that option didn't even cross my mind. I was convinced that taking photos of everyday Tokyo was so important that most of the 80's were spent lovingly wandering around the streets of the city. Bundles of film negatives without record of time and place they were taken are thrown into a box. This box is packed with just the memories of my 20's that I would never want to go back to. Rotten signs and shadows fallen onto the asphalt, Broken window glass and posters pasted onto the utility poles. Did I think that I could find myself in such stuff? In retrospect, those images are immature and the mindset I had back then, lacking any substance just bother me. However, even in those photos, I can pick out images of the city as it was back then. Caught between the self-inflicted pressure to make the photos my own, I probably didn't even look at those moments. Those images are of Tokyo back then…a Tokyo that was so far away from the person I was back then. I think for a brief moment that I wouldn't mind going back there.

At the time, I didn't earn much money but I had a lot of free time. I didn't have the money to travel, so the option didn't even cross my mind. I was convinced that taking pictures of Tokyo every day was so important that most of the 80s were spent wandering aimlessly through the city streets. Batches of film negatives with no indication of the time and place they were taken are thrown into a box. This box contains only the memories of my 20s that I would never want to return to. Rotten signs and shadows fallen on the asphalt, broken glass and posters stuck on electricity poles. Did I think I could find myself in such things? In retrospect, these images are immature and the state of mind I had at the time, without substance, bothers me. However, even in these photos, I can pick out images of the city as it was at the time. Caught between the self-inflicted pressure to make the photos my own, I probably didn't even look at those moments. These images are of Tokyo at the time… a Tokyo that was so far removed from the person I was at the time. I think for a brief moment that I wouldn't mind going back there.