Gods of the Road

A collection of photographs and essays by Genpei Akasegawa, capturing the accidental and unconscious forms remaining on city streets. It includes 70 photographs taken from the time he began observing streets until the book's publication.

Walls, roads, buildings, plants, abandoned objects. In a city that is supposed to be managed, forms created by the passage of time, the forces of nature, and the marks of human hands remain. Akasegawa turns his camera towards things that are visible yet overlooked.

In this book, these are not captured as unusual scenery, but rather observed as a hidden presence behind reality. As he continued to photograph, the meaning and strangeness of the subjects, as well as the shift in his gaze towards photography itself and light, are conveyed.

This book seeks not to directly show gods or truth, but rather their lingering scent on the streets. The book design is by Shinbo Minami. Comes with an obi.

[Title] Gods of the Street
[Publisher] Kosei Publishing Co.
[Publication Date] November 30, 2002 (First edition, first printing)
[Page Count] 157 pages
[Size] Approx. 149 x 190 x 13mm / 290g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] ROJŌ NO KAMIGAMI
[Author/Editor] Genpei Akasegawa / Author, Shinbo Minami / Book Design
[Printing/Binding] Kosei Publishing Co. / Printing, Oguchi Seihon Insatsu / Binding
[ISBN] 9784333019854
[Condition] Used [5] Good (Cover and obi: slight stains)
[Accessories] Obi
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -
[First Appeared In] "Buddhism" No. 16, "Sankei Shimbun" Evening Edition, "Jujitsu Sedai"

Genpei Akasegawa (1937–2014)

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1937. Artist, writer.

After dropping out of Musashino Art School, he worked in avant-garde art and illustration. Through his participation in Hi-Red Center and the "Thousand-Yen Note Trial," he created works that questioned systems, values, and the way everyday life is perceived.

He also wrote novels under the pen name Katsuhiko Otsuji, winning the Chuo Koron New Writers' Award for "Hadazawari" (Skin Feel), the Akutagawa Prize for "Chichi ga Kieta" (My Father Disappeared), and the Noma Literary New Artist Prize for "Yukino."

He named structures of unknown purpose left in the city "Hyperart Thomason" and formed the Roadside Observation Society with Terunobu Fujimori, Shinbo Minami, and others. He continued to observe and record things overlooked in everyday life, such as buildings, signs, roads, and plants.

His major works include "Hyperart Thomason," "Introduction to Roadside Observation," "Rōjin-ryoku" (Elder Power), "Tokyo Mixer Plan," and "Junbungaku no Moto" (Essence of Pure Literature).

< Related Figures >

Terunobu Fujimori
Shinbo Minami
Roadside Observation Society
Katsuhiko Otsuji