16/08/2026
【This is Tokyo】
leica summaron 3.5cm f3.5で撮影した新宿の夜。最近のレンズと比べると決して写りが良いとは言えないレンズですが、この弱い逆光耐性が新宿のならではの曖昧なバランスをうまく表現できているのではないか？と感じます。
ここを行き交う人は多くの人がエネルギッシュでキラキラ光っている中、1人孤独を感じてしまうような出来事があったら逃げてしまいたくなるような、そんな街です。
光を強く感じるところは、その分闇も強く感じる。
それは自分の外の環境的なお話ではなく、自分を照らす自分への光というか。
東京で生活している人はすごいわ。
Shinjuku at night, shot with a Leica Summaron 3.5cm F3.5.
Compared to modern lenses, it’s certainly not a lens you would choose for optical perfection. Its resistance to backlight is rather poor, and strong light easily washes over the image.
But somehow, I feel that weakness captures the ambiguous balance of Shinjuku perfectly.
So many people passing through these streets seem energetic, bright, almost sparkling. And yet, when something happens that makes you feel truly alone, this can also become the kind of city you just want to escape from.
The stronger the light feels, the deeper the darkness seems.
I’m not really talking about the environment around us, though.
Maybe it’s more about the light we cast on ourselves — the way we see ourselves, and the way we illuminate our own lives.
Living in Tokyo takes something.
I have a lot of respect for the people who do it every day.
