Hana Takeda Cat

A monochrome cat photo book by Takeda Hana , a photographer and essayist who has always maintained her own unique perspective.
He quietly photographs stray and pet cats living in the corners of the city, from Tokyo's old towns and back alleys, to cemeteries, on home balconies, and in front of snack bars, while maintaining a certain distance.

What is shown in the photo is not cuteness, but rather toughness and vigilance.
The cats, with their sharp gazes, seem somewhat suspicious of the photographer on the other side of the lens. This sense of tension creates a unique atmosphere on the screen, giving the book a different appearance from the so-called "soothing" cat photo books.

As you walk, you'll encounter cats, be approached by strange people, and find yourself in mysterious places.
"I'm happy to be living like this."
As those words suddenly emerge, the cat, the city, and memories all come together.

The book includes 12 essays at the end.
The author's writing, which is casual yet warm, about stories of cats and dogs, his own memories, and fragments of everyday life, resonates with the photographs and leaves a lingering impression on the reader.

[Title] Cat TOKYO WILD CATS Photographs BY HANA TAKEDA
[Publisher] Chuokoron-Shinsha
[Publication date] April 7, 1996 (first edition)
[Number of pages] Unpaginated
[Size] Approx. 212*265*18mm, 874g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] Cat
[Authors/Editors] Hana Takeda/Author, Yoshitomo Otani/Creative Direction, Takamasa Uotomo/Design, Ryoko Shiga (MODA)/Design
[Printing] Dai Nippon Printing
[ISBN] 4120025594
[Condition] Used [7] Above average (transparent cover shrinkage)
[Accessories] Transparent cover, obi
[Featured book] -
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Hana Takeda (October 31, 1951 – April 30, 2024)

Born October 31, 1951 in Tokyo. Japanese photographer and essayist. His real name is the same.
His father is the writer Takeda Taijun , and his mother is the essayist Takeda Yuriko .

She attended Rikkyo Jogakuin Junior and Senior High School, where she lived in a boarding school. After graduating from high school, her father bought her a Pentax SV, which prompted her to go on to photography school, but she soon dropped out. She then went on to Toyo University. During her student days and after graduation, she worked in a variety of jobs, including a publishing company, a bento shop, a hospital, an eel restaurant, a coffee shop, and the entertainment industry.

After graduating from university, he continued to work part-time jobs while photographing stray cats, and published his first photo book, "Cat Town Alley: Graffiti of Bad Cats and Miscellaneous Cats," in 1980. He held his first solo exhibition, "Where Cats Were," in 1986, and gained wider recognition with the publication of "Cats: A Place in the Sun" the following year in 1987. In 1990, he won the 15th Kimura Ihei Photography Award for his photo book, "Sleepy Town." Since then, he has written numerous photo essays in parallel with the publication of photo books, establishing a unique style that alternates between photography and words. His representative photo books include "Cats: Tokyo Wild Cats," "Seaside Bound," and "Cats: Main Street," while his essay collections include "Chimneys and Chickens," "Crows and Cats," "Cat Rays," and "Cat Ghosts Are Not Scary."

He inherited Takeda Sanso, a villa at the foot of Mount Fuji, which was the setting for his mother Yuriko's book "Fuji Diary." He used part of the villa as a darkroom, but it was demolished in 2006 due to deterioration. In 2005, he donated materials belonging to his father, Taijun, to the Museum of Modern Japanese Literature.

He died of thyroid disease at a hospital in Tokyo on April 30, 2024, at the age of 72.

His main subjects are cats and townscapes that seem left behind by the times. He is known for his monochrome style that creates a sense of tranquility and tension.

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