Nakagin Capsule Tower: A Tokyo Photography Lesson
I’ve heard some photographers say photography can stop time. When you hit that shutter button, everything freezes. Do you believe that? It can’t. No way. Nothing controls time, least of all a camera. Yes, I know these people are simply misspeaking. But it annoys the heck out of me. It would be great if they could stop using the phrase.
What happens is that the image you take will never change. Whether digital or in print, it will remain like that forever. Well, you could manipulate it somehow (e.g., Photoshop) to make it look different, but time never stopped. Every frame you take, meaningful or not, allows you to look at something that once was at a certain point in time. Why am I talking about this? Usually, I’m not so philosophical. There is a point to this, I promise you.
Inspiration from Japanese TV
My favorite television show is Shinbi-no-Kyojin (Giants of Modern Art). It is on TV Tokyo, every Saturday night, at 10 p.m. Every week the program looks at a painter, a building, an architect, or someone creative. It’s great. For many years I watched it religiously every week. In one episode in 2022, it featured Nakagin Capsule Tower.
I’m sure you’ve seen or heard of Nakagin. A friend once said it looked like a Rubik’s Cube. He was right. It does look like one of those.
It got me thinking. One day, it would be gone. That’s right. Someone would demolish it. One day, I (or even you) will be in Shinbashi, and it will no longer be there. Another example of Metabolism architecture (a post-war Japanese movement that treated buildings like living, growing organisms) will disappear. That is going to hurt.
And before that happened, I wanted to get pictures of this fabulous building. I won’t be able to stop time and save it, but I will have some photos of a place that had meaning. They won’t be when Nakagin Capsule Tower was in its prime, but at the end of its life.
But that’s okay. I will enjoy looking back when the Nakagin Capsule Tower once existed. Photography gives us a window into the past. That thrills me. We need to take a lot more pictures. I don’t want us to lose our history.
My biggest Tokyo photography regret
What’s the point of this story? Well, I walked by that building so many times. I knew it well, but I never took as many photos of it as I should have. There were chances to get images, but I kept walking. The light was always wrong, or I couldn’t get the composition I wanted. Then time ran out. It was demolished on April 12, 2022. Now, I will never get the chance to photograph it again. That hurts.
Documenting Tokyo history with your camera
Take the picture. Don’t worry if the lighting isn’t perfect. Don’t worry if you feel awkward standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk with your camera. Push that shutter button. Cities are always in constant flux. A shop, a neon sign, or a historic building that is here today might be gone by your next visit. Photography is our way of making sure we don’t lose our history. Time never stops, but your photos ensure that we never forget.
Nakagin Capsule Tower: The facts
- Architect: Kisho Kurokawa (Company website)
- Architectural style: Metabolism
- Construction started: 1970
- Construction completed: 1972
- Number of floors: 13
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Are you looking for more articles about the Shinbashi area? Check out [Hamarikyu Gardens: A Shogun’s Park].
