The idea of putting together a number of stories from various people isn’t a new one; but a new Kickstarter called Tokyo stories looks to do that while giving us a look into the minds of one of the world’s most fascinating cultures. Worked on by photographer Elodie Grethen, she cites that she created the book partially out of the fact that when she moved from Vienna to Tokyo, she didn’t know anyone. So she went out trying to find friends.
If you’ve ever moved to a new city or country, you can probably relate with Elodie’s words.
According to Elodie:
“Through social media, dating apps and personal recommendations, I was able to encounter Japanese people and foreigners living in Japan. I photographed them in their home, in hidden love hotels, and their neighbourhood. These familiar environments allowed me to capture confidential and personal moments while also letting me create my own intimate map of the city. Why did these strangers accept this encounter? How was the connection between photographer and subject created? By entering their home and therefore their world, I was able to abolish this distance and create a short but intense bond with them â a bond that became part of the project itself.”
Sounds familiar? In some ways it sounds like Humans of NY; which has kept a lot of people and photographers entertained due to the small tidbits that many of us can relate to. New York, however, has its own eccentricities due to how diverse the city is along with how people end up getting around. Tokyo is similar in some ways, but different when you consider the social interactions and the various thought processes of old vs new. Indeed, when it comes to just dating, the culture is so completely different from other places that the government even pays people to match men and women together due to the fact that they’ve got a population problem that could be coming soon.
The book, according to Elodie, is going to be a two part series. On Kickstarter, Elodie is trying to fund putting the project together while collaborating with designers.
Check out the Tokyo stories Kickstarter for even more information.
