Ulrich Moehwald

After graduating from Marburg University, he lived in West Berlin and Tokyo before moving to Nagoya in 1993. He is currently a professor of sociology at the College of International Studies of Chubu University.

Ulrich Moehwald took up photography in 1972. His photographic interest always centered on photographing people, but since the late 1970s, his main theme has been "street photography" - documenting the life of people in their everyday environment. After coming to Japan in 1987, he has traveled extensively throughout Japan and started to shoot Japanese life in order to acquire material for teaching and research. From these photos resulted his first exhibition in Tachikawa City in 1991. Ulrich Moehwald's street photography is less inspired by the search for the spectacular and exotic, but by the alien sociologist's look for the typical in ordinary life situations. It thus presents a distinctive view of the familiar routines of everyday life that largely have moved beyond our conscious perception.

Ulrich Moehwald is a founding member and secretary of Marafiki - Friendship and Art

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Sakae is the center of Nagoya where many young people meet. Mini-skirt and boots with platform soles in which it is rather difficult to walk, and a short white coat, thinking of the temperature on that day, that was really impressive.

Contax G I, Planar 45 mm, Fujichrome Provia 400.

The Bhuddist God Jizo is the patron of travelers, children, and pregnant women. The Mizunoko Jizo cult is devoted to the well-being in the afterlife of children who have died before birth due to abortion or miscarriage. Abortions are legalized in Japan and because of the long prohibition of oral contraceptives, Japan has an extremely high abortion rate. Up to the 1980s about 60% of the married women had at least experienced one, and 30% two or more abortions. Since the mid-1970s the Mizunoko Jizo cult has become very popular everywhere in Japan. Typically, small white figurines are offered before the statue of the Jizo to pray for the souls of the aborted children.

Pentax A3 Date S, Cosmicar 35-70 mm, Fujichrome 100

In this area of Tokyo everybody, young and old participted in bon-odori festivals, which therefore were very lively and interesting.

Takaido-Nishi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, August 25, 1991.

Pentax A3 Date-S, Cosmicar 35-70 mm, Pentax AF 280 T, Kodak Ektachrome 200

Especially the children had a great time. Where we live now in Nagoya only families with small children participate and it’s quite a sterile event.

Kugayama, Suginami-ku, Tokyo, August 18, 1991

Pentax A3 Date-S, Cosmicar 35-70 mm, Pentax AF 280 T, Fujichrome 400.

There exist a number of universities along this line and in the trains one sees many students commuting to school. Compared to the tired and worn out middle aged men on their way back home, these two gave a very awake and cheerful impression.

Pentax Spotmatic F, SMC Takumar 50 mm, Kodak T-Max 400

These kids from a primary school in our neighborhood really had fun on their way home from school.

Mamiya 645 Super, Mamiya Sekkor 80 mm, Fujichrome 400.

Blonde Japanese girls - that is something which didn’t exist in former times. New hair-dying products made this possible, and since they appeared on the market in the late 1990s, there exist almost no young Japanese who don’t dye their hair. When I arrived at Narita Airport in 1987 I almost got a shock seeing only masses of black haired heads around me - unbelievable today!

Contax G I, Sonnar 90 mm, Contax TLA 200, Fujichrome Sensia 100

This photo was shot when we went to the Osu Street Performers Festival for the first time. This Chaplin imitation was especially popular among the kids.

Nikon F3, Nikkor 35-70 mm, Kodak Tri-X Pan

The quarter around Osu Kannon Temple in Nagoya resembles in many ways Asakusa in Tokyo. It is very popular among young people as well as among the old. Every year on the third weekend in October a great festival of street performers takes place in this quarter, in which artists from all over Japan participate. This rather famous chindonya troupe from ?saka participates every year. Chindonya are groups of street musicians that in former times existed everywhere in Japan. They were especially engaged by shops and other businesses for advertising events. Since the 1960s their number has shrunk rapidly and only very few troupes exist nowadays.

Contax G II, Planar 45 mm, Fujichrome Provia 400

Compared to the 1980s and early 1990s, nowadays we rarely have a chance to travel in Japan. In March 2000 we had a rare opportunity to travel to Nagasaki and its surroundings. Nagasaki has the oldest China Town in Japan, but compared to those in Yokohama and K?be it is rather small. We were there just looking for a place for lunch, when we saw this old man giving loud orders. Presumably he was one of the elders of the quarter.

Contax G II, Sonnar 90 mm, Fujichrome Provia 400

The evening before I shot this photo, a big bon-odori took place in Kugayama. Perhaps he had drunk too much on that occasion, couldn’t make his way home, and lay down to sleep in the entrance of a shop. I saw him there when I went to work early the next morning. What was really impressive was that he had taken off his shoes just like before entering a tatami room and had arranged them very orderly on the street.

Pentax A3 Date-S, Cosmicar 35-70 mm, Fujichrome 400

Osu is a quarter with many small shops that sell almost anything. The specialties of the quarter electric appliances and electronics. During summer many events also take place in Osu and one sees many children with their parents. Because of the the large amount of overtime and weekend-work, Japanese fathers have the image of being non-existing in family life, but lately one often sees more and more fathers taking care of their children.

Contax T VS III, Vario Sonnar 30-60 mm, Fujichrome Provia 400.

Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theater that developed during the Edo Period (1600-1867) as a favorite past-time of the affluent burghers of the big cities. Therefore it also contained many popular elements. Today kabuki mainly exists as a rather formalized form of theater, which is concentrated on the big and famous city theaters, but well into the 1950s there still existed many kabuki-troupes that traveled the rural regions. In Akigawa this tradition of rural kabuki was revived in the early 1990s and we had the opportunity to visit its first performance and also look behind the stage. The impression really differed from “high kabuki” in that its rural form is very popular and lively. Elder people were dominant among the spectators.

Nikon F2, Nikkor 35-70 mm, Kodak Tri-X Pan and Pentax A3 Date-S, Cosmicar 35-70 mm, Fujichrome 400