‘Yopparai Tengoku’, Drunkards’ Heaven
Kenji Kawamoto travelled around Tokyo to photograph these ‘salarymen’ asleep in the city following a night of heavy drinking.

© Kenji Kawamoto
‘I took these pictures with a true feeling of respect for the people in them. I don’t believe the state my subjects are in is shabby in any way. I can feel they have experienced hardships and fatigue to end up like this’, states Kenji Kawamoto when explaining how his photographic series Yopparai Tengoku, literally ‘drunkards’ heaven’, came about.
The title echoes and pays homage to the eponymous film by Minoru Shibuya, released in 1962. Its social satire denounces Japanese society’s excessive tolerance for alcoholism.
Limits exhausted
Dozing on a staircase. Lying down on steps or leaning against railings. Asleep on the cold surface of a station floor or a pavement. Alone or with their drinking companions. Sometimes still dressed, other times surrounded by their belongings: jackets, shoes, socks and briefcase…
The bodies of salarymen photographed by Kenji Kawamoto unfold in various ways in the largest megalopolis in the world. ‘My photographs are a record of the people who have reached their limit and exhausted their strength after the daily grind’, explains the photographer, who spent days on end roaming the streets of the Japanese capital from nightfall until dawn, when these bodies came back to life, ready to resume their mechanical routine. ‘Everyone has different burdens, but everyone lives at a frantic pace. People drink with friends as a reward for the hard day’s work and face a new day’s work like warriors’, he continues.
The project is somewhat reminiscent of that carried out by director Allegra Pacheco who surrounded the bodies of these exhausted salarymen with white powder, just like how forensics teams outline the place where a body was found.
Yopparai Tengoku (2014), a series of photographs by Kenji Kawamoto that can be found on his website.

© Kenji Kawamoto

© Kenji Kawamoto

© Kenji Kawamoto

© Kenji Kawamoto

© Kenji Kawamoto

© Kenji Kawamoto
TRENDING
-
Paris, Tokyo: Robert Compagnon
With his co-chef and talented wife, Jessica Yang, Robert Compagnon opened one of the top new restaurants in Paris: Le Rigmarole.
3:31 -
Recipe for Ichiraku Ramen from ‘Naruto’ by Danielle Baghernejad
Taken from the popular manga with the character of the same name who loves ramen, this dish is named after the hero's favourite restaurant.
-
Tadao Ando's Floating Church
The architect, known for his rough concrete creations, designed ‘Church on the Water’, a chapel surrounded by nature in Hokkaido.
-
Bows and Arrows, the Haven of the Modern Japanese Art of Living
The concept store offers a selection of Japanese brands, showcasing the craftsmanship of artisans from around the country.
-
‘The Night Parade of 100 Demons’, a Folkloric Bestiary
In his inventory-style book, Matthew Meyer reveals the secrets of the ‘yokai’, iconic figures in Japanese folklore.