dogs & demons

Around 2000, Alex Kerr published a book called Dogs & Demons, which laid out his view that an “Iron Triangle” of permanent bureaucracy, the construction industry, and organized crime had ruined the natural beauty of Japan by encrusting the rivers and beaches with concrete and building thousands of kilometers of unnecessary roads. I think it was published right as sentiment was changing in Japan, because Ife seen a lot less of that since 2016. You get far enough from Tokyo, though, and showa remnants start popping up.

The thing is, all the concrete does degrade the natural beauty, but it’s also a definite aesthetic, and I appreciate that aesthetic. It delights me even as it disgusts me. It’s a kind of post-industrial wabi sabi. Also it’s occasionally city pop as hell.Read more