Jewelry complete copy street Takeshi Matsuyama

This is a photo essay collection by Japanese lyricist and editor Takeshi Matsuyama, featuring snapshots he took on overseas streets during his reporting trips, accompanied by his original texts.

Matsuyama earned the nickname “Watch King” by widely promoting the unique charm of mechanical watches—which had been pushed to the brink by the rise of quartz watches—through magazines like POPEYE. He showed that quartz wasn't the only option, revealing a path for coexistence.

During the 1970s, the introduction of jumbo jets lowered the financial barrier to travel, allowing Matsuyama to frequently visit major cities like London, New York, and Paris for magazine assignments.

This book features photographs taken with his Leica M4-2 during breaks from these assignments. Captured in color rather than black-and-white, they vividly capture the distinct atmosphere of each city.

As globalization made traveling the world easier, it also led to increasing homogenization. This book allows readers to enjoy the distinctive atmospheres of each city—now largely lost—alongside Matsuyama's tasteful handwritten prose.