While traveling, I have a habit of taking pictures of the scenery. Rather, I should say that I am not brave enough to take pictures of people. Still, however, I was somehow able to take many photographs containing people. Indeed, in a crowded city such as Tokyo, it might have been more difficult to take pictures of scenery without people.
There is nothing as important as ‘people’ when trying to understand a place while traveling. In fact, there is nothing more important than ‘human’ in the world we live because humans are self-centered. Many stories are actually conveyed from the back of people. You might successfully hide your story from your face but the life story that you carry on can be easily revealed through your back.
What would be a unique scene in ‘Japan’ or ‘Tokyo?’ The photographs that I took while staying in Tokyo for about 3 months adequately displayed traditional Japanese style. Young ladies enjoy wearing the traditional Kimono even on regular days. The fragrance of tradition is vivacious in their modern society. Japan – a mixture of modernity and tradition – makes the concept of ‘time’ meaningless. Actually, ‘time’ does not exist in the living world, the world of one life.
It is the most inspiring scene for me. It was the most Japan-ish moment. Japanese people are always well-ordered. Even in front of a kiosk during lunch time, they were quietly waiting in a line. I could feel their hardworking nature just from watching their backs and as my camera was already in my hand to capture them. Why do they have to wait in a line like that? You can understand it when you sneak a look in the kiosk. Most of the spaces in Tokyo are like this – small and non-spacious. People are sitting right next to each other and having lunch. I truly liked that scene where I can feel human. These are common but special scenes in which we can feel that this world is ‘alive’.
‘Life’ that the world embraces is also in the joyful face of a little kid at the metro station. It is the living world embraced in a momentary second. We get to feel grateful that everything exists together in this world.
You can find many people – young, old, female and male – riding bicycles. The bicycles are riding smoothly on the neatly-organized streets. In particular, there are many young moms taking their kids on their bike. This scene breaks ones fixed mind, as most roadways in the United States are traveled by car. There is nothing that you must not do in this world with living life. It is joy of everyday life to meet the bikie crowds from the big busy city like Tokyo.
I like to see the work of people who work hard no matter where I go around the world. They make the world lively. Going beyond the concept of good or bad jobs, they do their best in their job and that’s how this world can be kept lively. It was the most precious scene of Tokyo for me where many people were working hard and diligently.
The hands of working people make up the world. When we are doing something at the moment, the result comes along. That process and that result are actually the main agents of creating the world. As people exist, the world is beautiful. Every creation in nature does their job without mind and runs the world; likewise, the world can exist by the jobs of each one of us. The reason why the huge city called Tokyo runs smoothly is because of their diligent people working hard.
Some father heading back home after work seems more beautiful than the glaring sunlight probably because the world becomes meaningful when there are people. The photograph containing people shows more life than one containing only the street view. Likewise, as people exist, this world is beautiful and living for real even at this moment. It was a busy but quiet city: Tokyo.
Thanks to everyone who appeared in my pictures from Tokyo, and also to everyone in the world.
