Up now near the Kamogawa delta on the west bank of the river there are some large boards exhibiting black and white photos by local photographer, Kai Fusayoshi. whose name will be known to many because of his involvement with Honryado coffee shop and Hachimonjiya bar. The blown-up photos cover the side of a building selling plants called Tanegen and were originally part of the Kyotographie exhibition in October, 2020.
The event follows Kai’s previous outdoor exhibitions, over 20 in all, dating back to 1978. On former occasions, the Tanegen owner’s son would sit outside roasting yams, and it would be a gathering spot for prominent scholars, musicians, streetwise students and middle school girls. Policemen and the homeless would drop by to check if they could find themselves in the photos.
The photos also acted as background to events by the river, such as a Black Tent Theater performance, popular singers Goro Nakagawa and Wataru Takada, and a talk by the Buddhist nun and literary figure, Jakucho Setouchi.
As well as the walls of Tanegen, the Kyotographie exhibition took in the small Benten Shrine next to the plant shop plus the sidewalks at the east end of Kawai Bridge.
In years past, according to the exhibition notes, the Kamogawa Delta was repeatedly flooded and the surrounding houses washed away. Nonetheless it was an important transportation hub, marking the southern end of the Saba Kaido (Mackerel Road). Along with the fish, other products such as rice and other goods arrived here from the town of Obama in the north of Kyoto Prefecture.
In the Edo times cheap inns lined the streets and there were lodgings for travellers and migrant workers. It was indicative of the way Kyoto has had to regenerate itself after disaster.
About the photographer
After dropping out of Doshisha University, Kai Fusayoshi has spent over 50 years photographing everything about Kyoto. Born in 1949, year of the Ox, he was instrumental in setting up Honryado, the noted alternative cafe and intellectual hub of the 1970s. (It was sadly burnt down a few years ago.)
In 1977 he held his first photo exhibition, and in 1985 he opened a bar in Kiyamachi called Hachimonjiya that became the haunt of academics and artists. He has produced over 40 publications with themes like Alleys of Kyoto, Beautiful Women of Kyoto, Children of Kyoto, and Kyoto Neko Machi Blues. In 2009 he won the Kyoto Art and Culture Award.
(Apparently the present exhibition was part of an autumn Kyotographie event featuring ten artists in fourteen venues. This included the Demachi Masugata Shopping Arcade, in which is located the Delta Kyotographie’s permanent space.)
