HITOMI WATANABE: Tekiya

A photographic exploration of a group of tekiya (street vendors) by Hitomi Watanabe that follows the preparations of local festival. The tekiyas, that are mostly men, move from one place to another taking part of the folk fests and inner city scapes. Here Hitomi Watanabe is photographing their footsteps during 3 years, creating black and white imagery of their transitory lives.

“They were some rough-and-tumble men, filled with fervor, wackiness and laziness. I rushed back to my place to grab my camera and immersed myself in taking pictures of those people as soon as I returned. After 10 minutes or so, I was surrounded by those men. A middle-aged lady yelled at me too, saying "if you take pictures you will be beaten half to death!" While I was expecting an immediate punch from somebody, this man who seemed to be a boss among the group came up close with his overwhelming body odor and told me to take photos of him. He was like a godsend to me. This is how I started my career as a tekiya street photographer.” — Hitomi Watanabe