Tokyo no Kage: Shadows in the City

Drinking from an empty cup

Allan Murphy Sep 27, 2013 - 1 min read

Overhead walkway Shibuya station: Footsteps crossing diagonal shadows

Takamatsu 2-chome, Senkawa, Toshima-ku: Manhole cover, fire hydrant and tree—nature wins the prize for best design

Shakujigawa near Yamate-dori: The shadow of a bridge seems as a staircase down to the riverbed. By chance it is in the opposite direction to the building's stairway, which in turn casts shadows on the side of the building. These are bisected by the roadsi

Kanamecho station in the late afternoon: Casting long shadows

Shounji Temple, Ikebukuro 3-chome (near Kanamecho station): Tiered headstones shaded by cherry blossoms

Small park in Chihaya 2-chome, Kanamecho: Ballerinas

Near Hiroo: Traffic lights and a curved wall

Mailbox in Ebisu: Shadows on numbers on rectangles and more

Entrance to Shokakuin Temple, Toshima-ku (near Nerima Station); the New Year pine and bamboo decorations cast a diffuse shadow beside that of the harsh right-angled "gate"

Kodomo no shiro (Children's castle) in Shibuya/Omotesando: Dozens of carp streamers can be found here during Golden Week

"Drinking from an empty cup" is a Zen koan, a phrase to meditate on, along the lines of having something that isn't there. To me, photographically, a shadow is more than "an area of darkness created when a source of light is blocked"; shadows add another dimension. They are the combination of several variables: the position of the sun, the weather in general, immovable objects (buildings, trees), and especially movable objects (people, vehicles, a ladder placed just so). Then, it is the perspective one has when approaching a scene. Above all, as shadows are fleeting, many never to reoccur, it is the ability to see the intangible.

Allan Murphy @allan.murphy

Although I consider Vancouver to be my home, I'm an army brat and grew up in London, Ont., Birkenhead, UK; Soest, West Germany (then); and Petawawa, Ont. As a result, I became a rolling stone: lived in China (Chengdu), Western Auatralia and about 30 years in Japan. It ain't over yet.