Tokyo

In 1961, William Klein discovered Japan. Introduced to the Nipponese megalopolis by a group of official representatives, he overrode the prohibitions and took some almost insolent shots: a sumo wrestling match captured on the spot, at the foot of the sacred “ring” (the dojo), a close-up portrait of the imperial couple. William Klein visited the places of power: he photographed the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the luxurious salons of the Diet. Then he escaped the attention of his entourage to enter a city in upheaval, on the eve of the 1964 Olympic Games, which would usher the Japanese megalopolis into the modern era.

The famous photographer Eiko Hosoe introduces him to Kazuo Ono, the co-creator of buto dance, whom Klein pursues on the streets of Tokyo. He meets Ushio Shinohara, who engages in a “boxing-painting” performance, photographs prostitutes putting on make-up, mingles with children on the street or in a baseball stadium. Tokyo concludes with a night vision of the city lights, and an anti-American demonstration that foreshadows the decade of political protest.

Tokyo is a work at the crossroads of historical document and diary. As an American in post-war Japan, William Klein used photography to convey his astonishing encounters with the people, the powerful and the artistic avant-garde. Published in 1964, Tokyo is the last book in William Klein’s series devoted to cities (New York 1956, Rome 1956 and Moscow 1961).