The Tsukiji Compromise
Based in Tokyo, Tsukiji is currently the world’s largest fish market. With the 2020 Olympic games being hosted in Japan’s capital city, Tsukiji is due to be demolished to make way for a new highway to improve travel congestion between the Olympic village and stadiums.
Whilst still standing, I took a trip to Tsukiji to document moments which expressed the raw and unique essence of the market, revealing the ingraned connection Japan’s culture has with the fishing trade.
With the disappearance of the fish market at the Tsukiji location, generations of knowledge, trade, and trust will be lost with the market’s destined move to Toyosu. Given the positive social impact Olympic games are supposed to nourish, the decision to compromise part of Tokyo’s culture to host the games is controversial and hasn’t been well received by the people of Tokyo.
Photos and Text by Pierre Melion
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