Abstract

This photography book captures Covid-time Shibuya, Tokyo and rats that enjoy "city life", drinking bubble tea, drunk with cheap cocktail on the street, like they are the kings of this town.
Photographer and writer Naoki Ishikawa has a keen interest in the fields of anthropology and folklore studies, and continues to publish his works while traveling everywhere from remote areas on the planet to modern cities. In March 2020, when a "state of emergency" was first declared due to a pandemic, a large number of rats appeared in the deserted streets of Shibuya. Inspired by Camus' masterpiece "The Plague," Ishikawa tried to physically understand the calamity of pandemic as he follows the dynamic movements of the rats, sometimes takes the same perspective as the rats.
Filming continued until the closing of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The city of Shibuya, which is undergoing a transformation day by day due to redevelopment for a gigantic festival, can sometimes be photographed from a high place as if taking the perspective of pigeons---the natural enemies of rats. Ishikawa trying to capture the wildness, or even the pulse, of a quiet city.

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