“TOKYO Before/After,” a traveling photography exhibit, will debut in Manila at the third floor East Wing of Estancia Mall, Capitol Commons until July 31, 2025.
Photography critic Kotaro Iizawa curated the free exhibit that features approximately 80 works which capture life in Tokyo from the 1930s to 1940s, juxtaposed with images taken after 2010. The comparison of these two distinct periods brings Tokyo to life in the past, present, and future lenses.
The “Before” section shows Tokyo’s formative years during the wartime period of the 1930s to 1940s. Photographers from this era used emerging means of photographic expression to capture vibrant images of urban space, where tradition and modernity come together. This section includes shots from photography magazine KOGA, the NIPPON photobook, and Kineo Kuwabara’s snapshots of downtown Tokyo.
In the “After” section, photos of the 2010s show Tokyo’s transformation until the 2020 Olympic Games. The photographers of this time emphasized their individual perspectives while incorporating elements of rapid digitization. Featured here are the works of celebrated Japanese photographers Nobuyoshi Araki, Mika Ninagawa, Natsumi Hayashi, and Shinya Arimoto.
“The aim of the exhibition, through the works of Japanese photographers and their specific context, is to encourage a deeper understanding of Tokyo as a vast city of many, different faces. We hope that this exhibition will be enjoyed by both photography enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike,” said Ben Suzuki, director of The Japan Foundation, Manila.
