The Last Gallery

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Photo by Chikashi Suzuki

interview by JEFF RIAN
photography by CHIKASHI SUZUKI 

 

JEFF RIAN — It seems like Japan is a bit more isolated than it was during the 1990s. Is this true? Has Japan changed? Or has the world changed?
FUMIHIRO HAYASHI — Creatively, Tokyo is isolated from the world, compared to the ’90s. Japan’s experience of Mammonism and consumerist materialism ruined its spirit of creation. People were too involved in consumption.

JEFF RIAN — How are things in Tokyo going?
FUMIHIRO HAYASHI — The shock of the Lehman Brothers collapse forced a sudden transition in Tokyo. People who were usually really caught up in partying turned their energy from fashion to the environment. It’s like the end of the money game, a time of change. A new movement in the Tokyo underground resulted from this destructive change. Commercialism and…