At the end of November 2023, Tachikawa, a photography book capturing the late 1960s in Tachikawa, Fussa, and other areas known for their U.S. military bases, was published. The photos were taken by members of the photography club at Otsuma Women’s University and Junior College, who graduated in 1969. The afterword states: “In 1967, the Otsuma photography club joined the All Japan Students Photo Association. It was a time when the club was engaged in a series of activities while searching for a new direction. Socially, it was a period of intense student activism worldwide, including Japan. There was the Sunagawa Struggle, a protest against the Tachikawa Base expansion, the Kitafuji Training Area Struggle, the Sanrizuka Struggle, and the anti-Vietnam War protests. Resistance to power was erupting. Our activities at that time …combined with the atmosphere of the era, brought about a great shift in our resolve. At the same time, it raised the question of how to be self-reliant and navigate in the real world.”
According to Shizuko Abe, the publisher, the photos were taken in Tachikawa and the surrounding areas, including factories, Sunagawa, and Fussa. The Sunagawa Struggle, a fight against the expansion of the U.S. military base, had been ongoing for 14 years. Simultaneously, Tachikawa was a suburban area undergoing development during the period of rapid economic growth.
The Era: The Struggle to Confront Reality
Shizuko explained how the photography book was published more than half a century later. First, about 200 photos were discovered in 2018. Then, Kuniko Katsumata and Isami Sone, who were in the same club at the time, agreed to work together on the selection and layout to create a book.
Isami Sone said, “In the process of making the photography book, I remembered my life and experiences from those days, including the student movement and my participation in the meetings of photography clubs from other schools. Until 1966, I only took pictures of flowers, landscapes, and other beautiful things. However, from 1967, I was shown hundreds of photos at all-day meetings and asked for my opinion, which was very difficult at first because I had never expressed my feelings in words before. Furthermore, when I showed my photos, other students would point out how I should face the subject. I felt that I really needed to engage in photography wholeheartedly.”
Tachikawa and Fussa: Memories of Photographing Towns With Different Vibes
As Kuniko Katsumata sorted through the photos, which had faded from her memories since her graduation in the spring of 1969, she reflected on Tachikawa, where the U.S. military base was located, and Fussa, still known as a base town today. The atmosphere of the two towns captured in the photos was quite different. “Tachikawa still had a postwar atmosphere, with many bars lined up side by side. When I entered a bar, it was dimly lit, and there were many young Americans in civilian clothes quietly drinking alone. Thinking back on it now, they may have been soldiers returning from Vietnam. Fussa, on the other hand, had the atmosphere of a base town, and when I entered a bar, it was bright and very friendly with many high-ranking military personnel. There were quite a few residences for the members of the U.S. military, and I saw many Americans on the streets. At that time, Okinawa had not yet been returned to Japan from the U.S. When I went to the printer, who is originally from Okinawa, he looked at the photos and said, ‘It looks like Okinawa,’ so perhaps to someone from Okinawa, it probably exuded a similar atmosphere even in the photos.”
Shizuko shared a piece of information she found in a book called Scenery of Tachikawa: The Showa Colors Album, published by Takeshi Suzuki. It included Tachikawa Clubs & Bar Map, which indicated that Tachikawa was divided into two areas: the North Exit for white people and the Fujimicho area for black people.
Insights Gained Through Photography
October 21 is the International Day Against War. On that day in 1968, the Shinjuku Riot took place around Shinjuku Station, where more than 700 students were arrested for protesting against the Vietnam War. The following year saw the start of the first wave of Women’s Liberation, a movement aimed at changing women’s awareness and spreading activities to provide information and raise issues related to women’s rights.
Shizuko said, “It was a turbulent time when struggles against establishment erupted around the world. I was also involved with the High School Photography League during the summer of 1968 as part of the activities of the All Japan Students Photo Association. We organized collective shoots and went to Iwaki, Fukushima and Hiroshima. After graduation, I got married and took my children to the camp in Hiroshima.” Her partner was supportive of her activities, but her in-laws couldn’t understand her work.
Kuniko spoke of her own experience: “I went to Sanrizuka to take photos. We often stayed late at night because of our activities, and encountered problems unique to young women. I remember one classmate who commuted from Chiba to Tokyo to go to school. I vividly recall her saying how hard it was to see her mother, wrapped in a large scarf, anxiously waiting at the station nearest their home on cold winter nights. Looking back now, the activities of the photography club were very important in liberating myself. We discussed books by Sartre and Beauvoir and went to see Breathless and Pierrot le Fou by Godard, A Man and a Woman by Claude Lelouch, and Blowup by Michelangelo Antonioni. Everyone was eager to experience a new world. These experiences helped me overcome family conflicts and motivated me to think and act on my own. After graduation, I often participated in meetings to discuss women’s issues. Chizuko Ueno, the Japanese feminist and sociologist, was of the same generation. I believe that the women of this era strengthened the foundation of women’s liberation in Japan.”
Isami recalled, “I went to a girls’ school from junior high school and was always surrounded by women, so it was liberating to be part of a daily gathering near Meiji University, where men and women talked about photography, movies, and books.”
To wrap up the conversation, Shizuko offered her final thought: “I think we were able to create the photography book because the project surfaced at the right moment in our lives. We have been living our lives since graduation. Seeing those photographs appear in front of us half-a-century later, we could look back at that era and see the photos with fresh eyes and renewed interest.”
Shizuko Abe, Kuniko Katsumata and Isami Sonoe
Shizuko Abe, Kuniko Katsumata and Isami Sonoe graduated from Otsuma Women’s College and Junior College in 1969. While in college, they were members of the photography club and collectively took photos of Tachikawa and participated in other group projects.
About Tachikawa
Tachikawa is known for its history as the site of a U.S. military base, which brought significant changes to the area, spurring infrastructure development and economic growth after the war. After the base was later returned to Japan, Tachikawa actively engaged in urban redevelopment. Today, Tachikawa flourishes as the gateway to Tama. As a tourist destination, Tachikawa is home to the Showa Commemorative National Park and has recently gained popularity as a mecca for anime and manga fans.
Photography Seiji Kondo