Akiba Memory photo exhibit

07.06.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith

The week before the one-year anniversary of the Akihabara Incident, Art Jeuness unveiled a photo exhibition of the Pedestrian Paradise heyday from 2005 to 2008. The shots are by an Osakan man who is regularly seen on the street. They are all black and white, and range from performers to images of buildings long gone. There is one image of The Liberate Akihabara Demonstration that includes several members of Otaku2, and Danny Choo. The single best image is taken over the shoulder of a man reading a newspaper article about the stabbings last year, even as people in front of him huddling taking pictures of the sleeping cat outside the Electric Town Exit. Another image shows a mother and father posing with their cosplaying daughter, and the next image is a young man being escorting to the police station under the scrutiny of numerous cameras. The exhibit is a fitting tribute to a surreal time.

An interesting addition to the photos is a survey of support for reviving the Pedestrian Paradise. On Sunday, the day before the anniversary of the incident, it was 720 for, 961 and 172 undecided. That is a pretty bad score given that the exhibit was in Akiba and targeting those who love the area. I don't think anti-otaku residents came out just to skew these numbers. Indeed, a look at the wall of comments from exhibit visitors shows that stalwart Akiba goers worry that the use of the Pedestrian Paradise as seen in these photos was a nuisance to residents and even to the otaku shopping in the area. The evening after Jeuness closed on June 8, the survey was 768 for reviving the Pedestrian Paradise, 998 against and 183 undecided.

"Everyone is against reviving the Pedestrian Paradise as it was," said Kobayashi Takaya, speaking for the Chiyoda Ward Council. "Even if it was revived, we would seriously have to consider how it is used. The street is a place for walking, shopping and socializing, not strange performances and play."

Picture taken by Adrian A. Lozano.