Shin Yanagisawa’s “Tracks of the City” was originally published in 1979 by Asahi Sonorama as part of a series of photobooks that also included “Yoko” by Masahisa Fukase, “Japan, A Photo Theater II” by Daido Moriyama and “Yoko My Love” by Nobuyoshi Araki. Out of print for many years, this 2025 edition by Japanese publisher roshin books finally brings back Yanagisawa’s masterpiece.

Photographed between 1965 and 1970, Yanagisawa captured postwar Tokyo during one of its busiest scrap-and-build periods, with entire neighborhoods vanishing then re-appearing entirely transformed. Executed with singular vision and skillful craftsmanship, Yanagisawa’s snapshots record this transient state in highly atmospheric, almost poetic images whose perspectives and dramatic staging still stand out more than forty years after their original publication. The book includes a new essay by art critic Minoru Shimizu.

first edition