(MENAFN- Asia Times) Mention the Tsukiji fish market and images of its rowdy, energetic pre-dawn and at times frenzied fish auctions are immediately conjured. The largest wholesale fish market in the world, which opened in 1935, is situated in central Tokyo, Japan.
The famed wholesale center is also a popular tourist spot, where visitors queue as early as 3am for two hours to watch the auctions at 5am.
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It is also scheduled to be relocated, with initial plans of an early November shift this year being pushed back to winter next year due to concerns over soil contamination at the new site in Toyosu ward outside of central Tokyo. Part of the market was slated to be cleared for a highway for the Olympics in 2020.
The move has been mired in controversy – city officials say the shift has been planned for decades and merchants argue that it is outdated and too small; but critics are worried over the loss of atmosphere at the new site besides the issue of contamination.
Photographer Shun Kato, whose previous work was on 'The Fishermen of Okushiri Island,' spent a year capturing the people at the market in his latest series of black and white photography, which was first exhibited by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
'The people who work there are renowned for their high spirit and energy. That has an enormous impact on me,' said the 25-year-old Kato.
Photography became his fascination while studying at the Nagoya University of Arts and Sciences. He now works for Jiji Press, a wire service based in Tokyo.
Like others, he is concerned over whether the atmosphere would carry over to the new site at Toyosu. Hence his decision to document 'every drama of the place' within the short time left at the current venue.
Kato's previous work on the fishermen of Okushiri Island led him to this project on the Tsukiji fish market. The island was the hardest hit by the Hokkaido earthquake in 1993, where large parts of the island were left devastated.
That did not dampen the enthusiasm for life among the inhabitants on Okushiri Island.
'The people there live every moment with all of one's energy,' he said. Much like at Tsukiji.
Kato's favourite character is a man pictured below from the fish wholesale business, who also happens to be a lover of Japanese festivals.
Photo: Shun Kato
He is also the same person in one of the most iconic photographs in the series. Time stood still, as the man lay sleeping on a friend's lap.
'They were out drinking, then they came back to Tsukiji fish market. When I shot the picture he had already fallen asleep,' Kato said
Man resting. Photo: Shun Kato
But for Kato, the characters who show such unbridled passion for life also bring a tinge of melancholy.
'Sometimes he would sing. When he signs, I feel though that even the sun is incapable of withstanding the passage of time, sinking at the end of each day, and likewise, things with character are helpless to resist the passage of years,' Kato said.
See more photos here:
Weighing the passage of time. Photo: Shun Kato In action. Photo: Shun Kato Tuna on trolley. Photo: Shun Kato Man resting on counter. Photo: Shun Kato Worker packing boxes. Photo: Shun Kato Waiting. Photo: Shun Kato Portrait of a fish seller. Photo: Shun Kato
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