Nijūsan-ku (二十三区)

Tokyo, 2010 — Medium Format & 35mm

Shot over 23 days in Tokyo at the age of 23, Nijūsan-ku is a photographic study of the city's 23 special wards—an incomplete but intentional drift through urban space, memory, and form. The work blends elements of derive and psychogeography, exploring how city structures shape perception and movement.

Photographed on 120 and 35mm film, using a Mamiya 645E with a Sekor C 80mm f/2.8 and a Canon EOS 300 with an EF 28mm f/2.8, this series documents both scale and intimacy—shifting between architectural stillness and street-level presence.

Originally exhibited under the title Framing Japan at pop-up Hidden Leaf Gallery (Lewes) and Okinami (Brighton), the images were all machine-developed at Colourstream Photolab, with exhibition prints mounted and framed by hand.

This body of work is paired with Nijūsan-sai (二十三歳) / Twenty-Three Years Old, a companion collection focusing on locations outside Tokyo. Together, they form a dual portrait of place and age—an archive of a moment in time, and the act of framing it.