Bibliotheca

THE TOKYO TOILET BOOK

A photo book which captures the public toilets in Shibuya like you’ve never seen.

With the aim of renewing the public toilets in the city into places of new awareness that will grab people’s attention, THE TOKYO TOILET project was initiated. 17 innovative public toilets in Shibuya, Tokyo have been redesigned like we’ve never seen before by 16 world-class creators, such as one which offers shelter from the rain, one that looks like a spacecraft and a “squid toilet” in the “octopus park,” for everyone to use comfortably. The film “PERFECT DAYS” by director Wim Wenders was set around THE TOKYO TOILET, bringing it to life as a “quiet spot in busy Tokyo”. The project has now been developed into “The Tokyo Toilet Book” by photographer Yoko Takahashi. The 17 locations documented through her heart and lens will truly remain unforgettable, capturing the charming sceneries of new Tokyo forever.

“I was incredibly impressed by this project. It means a great deal, given that Tokyo is a highly influential city. Each toilet is amazing as architecture, art and a landmark, and as eye-catching as they are, they blend well with the scenery of Tokyo. That is exactly what I think of Tokyo. I hope you enjoy interpreting this book with your imagination and fantasy, and it would be my pleasure if it could encourage you to notice the changes in the book as 10, 20 years pass by.” -YOKO TAKAHASHI

Published following the series of exhibition “Spring for a Ground”, SculptureCenter, New York, from May 3 to July 5, 2015, “Particle of Inch”, Hepworth Wakefield, from July 18 to October 11, 2015, “Halted Paves”, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster, from October 31, 2015, to January 17, 2016, “Quarters”, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, from March 30 to June 12, 2016.