Satoshi Nakajima 中島敏 - Doya-gai Kamagasaki 写真集 ドヤ街 釜ヶ崎 - 1986

Nakajima's great black and white images from Japan's "skid row" in Kamagasaki, Osaka, one of the most lawless flophouse districts in Japan.

In 1969, Nakajima came to Kamagasaki for work. He witnessed repeated riots by day laborers, high numbers of job seekers, security cameras everywhere, and the harsh daily life. A surreal world seen in a corner of the big city of Osaka. He began taking photographs about a year after he began living in Kamagasaki, and for over 10 years thereafter, he recorded the current state of Kamagasaki through photographs and text. This was a message from local workers calling for not just repression, security, and temporary benefits, but for the nation as a whole to shine a political light on those at the bottom of society.

Condition: very good, minor stains on cover and along book block, inside clean, no stains or foxing, unmarked.