Haneda Airport: A Record of 27 Years After the War / Tokyo International Airport 1946-1972

“Tokyo International Airport 1946-1972,” a photobook by Japanese photographer Soichiro Yokoyama.

This photobook by Soichiro Yokoyama, who was born and raised in Haneda, documents Haneda Airport and its surrounding area from immediately after the end of World War II until 1972.

Haneda was once a fishing village spread across the mouth of the Tama River. Yokoyama, whose ancestors resided in a section of the “Suzuki Shinden” area, reclaimed during the Tenmei era, witnessed the changing landscape of Haneda from his childhood. He personally experienced the "forced eviction within 48 hours" by the occupation forces after the war.

This book captures the rapid transformation of the Haneda area from the chaotic post-war period to the era of high economic growth.

Runway construction, US military occupation, airport expansion work, aircraft arrivals and departures, fishing, festivals, reclaimed land, townscapes, people's lives—what is captured here is not only the “airport” lauded as a symbol of Japan’s reconstruction. It also quietly records the memories of Haneda as a fishing village that was lost due to airport construction, and traces of people's lives.

Yokoyama himself described this book as "an elegy to Haneda Airport, imbued with nostalgia for the disappearing fishing village of Haneda."

The photographs possess both the strength of documentary photography and the lived experience of a person who resided in that land. These are photographs taken with a sense of proximity that only someone who lived there could have, rather than observing urban development from an outsider's perspective.

The beautiful monochrome gravure printing also makes this a significant work for the local history of post-war Tokyo.

[Title] Tokyo International Airport 1946-1972
[Publisher] Nihon Camera-sha
[Publication Date] December 2, 1972
[Page Count] 112 pages
[Size] Approx. 220*292*17mm / 670g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] HANEDA KUUKOU SENGO NIJUUNANEN NO KIROKU / TOKYO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 1946-1972
[Author/Editor] Soichiro Yokoyama / Author
[Printing] Kokko Printing / Printing
[ISBN] None
[Condition] Used [2] Fair (Cover: significant sunning, damage/missing parts, water stains, scratches; Main body: tape marks on 8 pages within text, sunning, undulation)
[Accessories] None
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Soichiro Yokoyama (1920-1995)

Born in Haneda Anamori, Tokyo, in 1920. Photographer.

Graduated from Hosei University, Faculty of Law and Literature. Born and raised in Haneda, he continuously observed the changes in Haneda Airport and its surrounding area from childhood.

After the war, he experienced the "forced eviction within 48 hours" by the occupation forces. He continued to photograph the Jonan area of Tokyo, centered on Haneda, for many years.

He was responsible for the Jonan district in "Shashin Tokyo Fudoki" (edited by Masao Tanaka), documenting life and landscapes in the Tokyo Bay area. He photographed the rapidly changing face of post-war Tokyo, including airports, fishing villages, industrial zones, festivals, and people's lives.

His masterpiece, "Tokyo International Airport 1946-1972," simultaneously portrays Haneda Airport as a symbol of Japan's reconstruction and the memories of the land that were lost in its shadow.

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