Images of Triptych Tokyo 2022 prints courtesy of Takashi Fukukawa.

When I lived in Hawaii, I would often hop over to Tokyo.

I would go there to skate and drink and be the most obnoxious little 21-year-old Gaijin imaginable. Despite my last name, I speak no Japanese at all, but I’ve always enjoyed how unnecessary language is in developing camaraderie through a creative common denominator such as skateboarding, music, or, in this case, photography.

The work of Takashi Fukukawa, the Yoyogi-based film photographer and darkroom printer, is an example of a pretty picture’s universal bonding power. Fukukawa makes striking imagery with simple tools, distinct style, and an organized but novel take on traditional darkroom processes. Though Fukukawa very humbly describes himself as a ‘weekend photographer’, his work is thoughtful, employing a smooth gradient and medium-to-high contrast to emphasize daily life in the context of a modern metropolis, his perspectives piecing together a city.

Much like a perfectly-caught kickflip or a nice chunky bassline, if you make an interesting photograph, it is something that anyone of any age, background, or culture can appreciate—and I do. Like I said, I speak no Japanese and Fukukawa speaks no English, so this interview process was a long and difficult one conducted over Instagram DM (the modern carrier pigeon), but you get the gist, and really, the images do most of the talking anyway.

*The absolute minimum amount of editing was done for spelling and clarity, and because the minimum is what we do best.

When did you start taking photos?

I started shooting in my current style around 2018.

How did you begin taking photos?

I don’t remember that. Instead, I’d like to talk about how I started shooting in my style. I like shooting photos of Tokyo streets and landscapes with panoramic film cameras, and in addition to the Xpan, I also used WIDELUX and other cameras to take panoramic shots. One day, the scenery I wanted to capture didn’t fit in the angle of view of my XPan, and I was at a loss as to how to capture it. Then I came up with shooting a scenery divide in multiple and combining them later. Now, I take one to four frames (sometimes more) depending on the size of the scenery I want to capture. Just like using a zoom lens or changing lenses. I feel that the division into thirds is the most well-balanced, and I make many works in the style. So, for my first photo exhibition in 2020, I named this series Triptych Tokyo.

Why do you shoot on film?

Because I like the process of making analog photography. And the work I want to create has elements that can only be included in an analog process. Someone commented that my work is interesting because it looks like looking at the city of Tokyo through three windows. I think of film perforations as that ‘window frame’. Digital photography doesn’t have that, so I’m using analog process. But unfortunately, sometimes I need it, and I’m also paying the Adobe tax…

How did you start printing in the darkroom?

My first darkroom print was at a workshop at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP Museum). I wanted to know what darkroom printing is like. Since then, I’ve been hooked on the fun and have rented a darkroom for printing almost every month.

*Until then, I used a film scanner to scan the negative film into a PC and printed it out with an inkjet printer.

How do you shoot long frames? Did you modify your camera for that?

No, the Hasselblad XPan camera which I use is originally a panorama camera. No modification required.

How do you choose what to take a picture of?

I’m cutting out the city of Tokyo where I live. I rarely go to specific places for the purpose of shooting, and I record the scenery that I want to capture in my daily life on film.

It looks like you only take pictures on Rollei Retro film. Is that your favorite film?

Yes, it meets many of my requirements. For making prints that include film perforations, the film must have a highly transparent base. Otherwise, the areas where the negatives overlap will become whitish. Also, since I always shoot without a tripod, it must be a high-sensitivity film. Though I’m not completely satisfied, Rollei Retro 400S met those requirements.

Why do you only shoot in black and white?

Just because I’m not good at color printing.

@fukukawatakashi