The Sketch of Kanto Area

Issei Suda
The Sketch of Kanto Area

Photographs: Issei Suda

Publisher: Akio Nagasawa Publishing

120 pages

Year: 2022

Comments: Hardcover with pictures tipped in and shipping box, 207 x 216 mm, b&w photographs. Edition numbered to 600 copies.

There are things I have lost amidst the growing abundance, and things I have forgotten while living in the city. Instead of stars that I used to see in the sky, the night is filled with stars of neon that glitter suspiciously like beckoning light traps. From down in the valleys between buildings, the looming peaks of black concrete form sceneries that almost feel sublime to me.
Here I am, drinking High Sour and spluttering arguments in the middle of a downtown street, trying to forget the pain when my heart feels empty, and dreaming of Madonna, as I take my “Tokyo chika chika syndrome” with just a little sigh. And I’m going to laugh at things again tomorrow. That’s not because I feel lonely or amused though, but I will only hear myself muttering, “What a great city Tokyo is!”
Nonetheless, there is always a crazy idea or two flying around, and they will surely come to my mind and lift me up, eventually…

－Issei Suda, from "Asahi Camera", May 1983 issue