Kineo Kuwabara captured these rich images of everyday life the city during the buildup to the second world war. The series is on display 18-19 May at the Special Edition of The London Photograph Fair
Main image: Street life in Tokyo during the 1930s
Fri 17 May 2019 13.00 BST Last modified on Thu 26 Mar 2020 14.28 GMT
A girl with umbrella passing a newspaper vendor, Yarakucho, 1936. Kineo Kuwabara was a self-taught photographer who took images for his own pleasure. The last pictures in this series were taken in 1938 but would remain unseen until 1973 All Photographs: Kineo Kuwabara Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A student walking across Ryodaishi Bridge, 1937. After the second world war, Kuwabara became a leading art critic and editor, focusing on promoting other photographers’ work Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Kuwabara captured a world of contrasts. In this 1937 image, two Geishas make their way through a traditional flower market in Asakusa Koen, catching the eye not only of the photographer but also a vendor Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Morning outside Ueno Station, 1936. Kuwabara’s parents were pawnbrokers. As a teenager he taught himself photography and would spend his spare time roaming the streets of Tokyo with his camera. This is first time his images have been exhibited in the West Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Afternoon at the Morinaga coffee shop in Ginza, 1936. This was an extremely tense period in Japan but Kuwabara’s images often show a remarkable lack of concern, as in this scene showing café patrons having afternoon coffee in one of Ginza’s chicest haunts
It may look disturbingly like a corpse in shop window, but it is really a wax figure used as a display in a shop Asakusa-Ku, Matsukyocho. Kuwabara came across it during one of his strolls in the district in 1937 and was captivated by the strangeness of the scene
Young fashionistas. The girls were referred to as “Mogas”, short for “Modern Girl”. The male counterpoint was “Mobo”, short for “Modern Boy”. Kuwabara was particularly drawn to the fashionable districts of Ginza, parading grounds for Mogas and Mobos Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A single car crossing the Ryodaishi Bridge early in the morning 1937, with the photographer’s shadow in the lower right. Kuwabara worked quickly and instinctively and is now regarded as one of Japan’s most important street photographers Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Enjoying the sunny weather in Asakusa Koen, Hyotan Lake, 1936. The contrast between Old and New Japan crops up again and again in Kuwabara’s images. Young men pose in western clothes and to the right, a man in traditional clothes. Western influences were increasingly frowned upon as the war drew close Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A man pushing a pram with two girls, Asakusa Koen, 1936. Is he their father? Or their grandfather? In Kuwabara’s images there is hardly any distance between the people and the photographer. The attempted coup earlier in the year had put many on edge but Kuwabara’s images mostly show a lack of concern, with people going about their daily business Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
“The calm before the storm”. A girl dancing on Yuigahama Beach in Kamakura, 1934. Kuwabara’s images were unknown outside a small circle until his large retrospective in 1973. It was the first time that photographs from 1930s were shown publicly in Japan and for many survivors of the war his photographs were a source of great nostalgia Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Sun rising over the Imperial Palace. In 1936, a group of young officers of the radical Kōdōha (Imperial Way) faction of the Imperial Japanese Army attempted to purge the government and military leadership of the moderate Tōseiha (Control Faction), their factional rivals and ideological opponents, to establish an ultranationalistmilitary government. In this picture Kuwabara captured the nervous atmosphere the morning after, as the sun rose over the Imperial Palace. The coup failed and the rebels surrendered on the 29th of February Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
A pharmacy in Shitaya-ku Sakamachi, 1938. Kuwabara was deeply fascinated by graphic design in the public space and often included adverts, billboards, shop-signs and posters in his images Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
