In Front of the Tokyo Station, from "Tokyo Marunouchi Series"
東京駅前（東京丸の内シリーズ）
- Birth Year
- 1914
- Death Year
- 1991
- Date
- 1937
- Technique, Material, Format
- gelatin silver print
- Dimension
- 29.7 x 20.2 cm
- Donor name
- Mr. Morooka Koji
- Category
- Photograph or Moving Image by JapanesePhotographer/Artist
- Inventory Number
- 85-PHJ-164
Photographer Morooka Koji documented the city of Tokyo for about half a century, from the 1930s to the 1980s. In that time he captured Tokyo’s changing landscapes, including the commercial center of Ginza, the office district of Marunouchi, and Sumida, where the old townscape remained. His photographs almost always include people, so this shot is rare. The large car in the foreground is an American-made luxury sedan called a Packard, which was well known for its use by the government and also members of the imperial family. Also visible in the background is the central part of Tokyo Station’s Marunouchi building, where the imperial family had their own private station entrance. Photographs of the imperial family were popular at the time, but in this shot the photographer is just hinting at who might be present without showing them directly.
(KIMURA Eriko)