TOKOYO NO MUSHI Yoshiichi Hara

This second edition of “Toyoko no Mushi” brings back one of late Yoshiichi Hara’s most sought-after photobooks.

Originally published in 2013, “Tokoyo no Mushi” (“Everlasting Insect”) weaves a strange, dark atmosphere as Hara (1948–2019) captures an urban world through the perspective of insects. Fascinated by the story of a god-like “everlasting insect” he stumbled upon in a translation of the “Nihon Shoki”, one of the oldest Japanese books ever written, Hara became fascinated with the insectile nature and their instincts to the point he tried to adopt them in his photography.

These small insects die after the summer goes or even sooner. They usually have a few more days to live. How long have I lived? More than sixty summers; 64 years have gone to pass by me, almost in no success, in total boringness, but how many years more? How much work can I still make in this time left for me? Too little, or still very much? These small lives of insects teach me far deeper about the meaning of my lifetime than I could understand myself.” ― from Yoshiichi Hara’s afterword