Sunday, March 28, 2021

「Tenbun Closing」One Year Anniversary, pt. 1: Empty Space

March 28, 2020 was Tenbun's last day of business. One year later the location of Tenbun is empty space. The red circles on the floor guide for エルくずは (Elle Kuzuha) show where Tenbun was (lot 5) and that no new shop has opened there.

The Norengai is no more (only two shops seem to have a small noren now). This shot was taken at 5:30 PM last Thursday. The renamed エルくずは is no longer a busy and popular corridor like it once was. The demise was likely caused by the refurbishment/gentrification of the area by Keihan Densha, higher rents, more chain restauraunts, the close of the pachinko parlour and finally the close of Tenbun. COVID-19 was the last nail in the coffin. In all, three shops have gone out of business and remain vacant. At least one shop seems to be at least temporarily closed.
Shuttered and closed. But not forgotten...

For more information on Tenbun and the project: 「Behind the Scenes:「Tenbun Closing」Presentation @ Anthropology of Japan in Japan Annual Meeting 2020」

http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2020/12/behind-scenestenbun-closingpresentation.html

「Eat, Drink, and Stand in Japan」at Anthropology News (oneline version)

https://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2021/01/08/eat-drink-and-stand-in-japan/

No comments: