Hello again,
Joel Pulliam here, and this is the second issue of my photography newsletter. If you didn’t have the chance to read the first one, you can find it in my archive, here. (Or, if these newsletters are not your sort of thing, there’s a gray unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email.)
As I mentioned in my first newsletter, my current project is photographing the Furukawa River here in Tokyo. It’s not nearly as large as the well known Tamagawa and the Arakawa rivers, but it is centrally located and historically important.
A few hundred meters from where I live, the Furukawa bends at a right angle, and so borders my neighborhood on two sides. I can walk down to make photographs at any time — no travel, no permission needed, no excuses.
This area of Tokyo is is called Azabu, which comes from the Japanese word for “hemp.” While hemp was (and still is) used to make cloth, it’s also the material used to make the oldest Japanese paper, called mashi. Eventually it was replaced by the more familiar washi made from the mulberry, gampi, and mitsumata plants.
I’ve used mulberry paper for my previous projects and its smoothness and shine is wonderfully refined. But recently, I’ve found some hemp paper that has been prepared for archival inkjet printing. Although it’s not especially thin, it’s lightweight and translucent, with a slightly rough texture. And it creates beautiful matte prints that have an almost antique feel. I suspect it may be the paper I use to handmake physical works from this project.
It’s hard to convey the physical qualities of a given paper through a digital photograph, but here’s a shot.
Hemp may or may not have ever been cultivated in the Azabu area. In any case, though, the lowlands along the Furukawa river were used for agriculture since prehistoric times. Following the great fire of 1657, the river was widened and the area began to be settled into residential communities. The river became critical for the transportation of building materials as the city grew.
By the time the middle of the 20th century rolled around, the river had become a dumping ground. Tokyo has only lately been trying to clean up the Furukawa, even pumping in highly treated sewage water. Flowing, clean water is good, but the lack of vegetation or sunlight along the river still leaves most of it feeling bleak.
Nevertheless, according to the latest survey, there are 19 species of fish that live here. (I know this thanks to the help of the librarians at the city museum, who seemed absolutely delighted by an American wanting to research the river). I haven’t had much luck photographing the fish, but with them come other wildlife. Turtles are a frequent sight, sunning themselves on the few available flat banks.
A variety of species of ducks swim up and down the river, especially during the winter months, when they migrate here from Russia. Then there is this gray heron that I often see wading in the water, up on the embankment watching, or sometimes flying its upper length. He (I think it’s a he) is the only one living here that I’ve seen. I find him hunting at all hours, from early morning until after dark. When I do, I quietly follow him, until he becomes aware of me and disappears.
And, of course, there are pigeons, moving back and forth in large flocks. Casual flocks of pigeons, bringing to my mind the poetry of Wallace Stevens. I could probably make a book just of the pigeon photos I’ve taken.
I hope that you all enjoy the holidays. If you’re looking for new photobooks to check out, one of my favorites is Hong Kong 2019 by Takehiko Nakafuji. It’s rare for me to ecounter a photograph that feels like it needs to exist — much less a whole book of them. Nakafuji’s work, shot in Hong Kong during last year’s protests, is just that. Crucially, he captures not only the major marches, but also so much of what was happening at the same time in other parts of the city, away from the crowds. Though Nakafuji claims he was only a witness, these are fierce and emotionally immediate photographs.
Turning my mind back to Tokyo, it’s finally getting colder. I’m hoping for at least one good snowfall, and to be outside with a camera when it happens. I’ll report back in about a month. I’ll also look back at some photos I took of of another river, years ago when I was living in Washington, DC.
Joel