‘Tokyo Nights’, a trip as a16-year-old to Japan, 3 summer months of training at the Kodokan every day, and then evenings spent in the neon glow and bars of Shinjuku, Tokyo, an adventure shared with other young judokas from across the globe. This essay like ‘The Ambler Gambler’ stimulated and born from images found and memories reimagined, not of the mat but rather this city and its impact on a young and impressionable mind.
The 3 artworks in the Tokyo Nights series by Brent Meheux, based on his time in Japan as a young 16-year-old judoka.
Tokyo Nights
From the mat I crane my neck to see his arm reaching up, the referee confirming what I can feel, ippon, and the final 10 points, 16 years old and a black belt, “where am I going to buy one before the flight on Wednesday?” uttered as I step from the LJC into the London sun, a tug on the arm as a belt is thrust into my hand, “good luck” the only words to accompany the gift.
With doors locked at 9 every evening down the scaffolding we climb, cat like across the police roof and down into the metro, a short hop to the endless bustle and neon glow of early 1980s Shinjuku, streets packed with the young and not so young of Tokyo, a clash of impossible to miss fashion on every sidewalk. By now use to the stares, giggles and hushed ‘Gaijin’ cat calls we push into a tiny bar open to the street, noodles and beer ordered, the not-so-subtle spoon in a glass insult pushed to one side, chopsticks now comfortable in foreign hands. A wail of sirens and cacophony of bike exhausts turn heads as bosozoku gangs weave at speed through the gridlocked road, baseball bats and old imperial flags slung across shoulders, police noisy but impotent as they seek a way though the wall of traffic. We walk the streets taking in the sights, careful to not catch the eyes of the Yakuza doormen as we soak up the atmosphere before the climb back up the scaffolding to the dorm, stretching out on the tatami to sleep atop the bed rolls, now use to the humid August nights and city noise seeping through the open windows, the South African boys following on, everything is “lekker” after a night of cheap beer and fried chicken. Practice 3 times a day, every day, except for Thursday afternoons as we clean mats before soaking tired limbs at the public baths, young judokas from across the world here at the Kodokan all seeking an answer to the same question.
10 years pass before I see Paul again, he visiting the Budokwai to stay close to the judo, I still not accepting that at 26 my question has long been answered. We chat at the matt edge about that summer, the beer, food, and impossibly different culture, whilst I refuse to see the sticks, he now leans on at 28, proof if any was needed that he would never step on the mat again.
A close-up of one of the test prints in the series, artwork 3 of the series.
The first artwork in the series, based on a found image of a street sub-culture in Tokyo, Japan
The midle artwork in the series, containing a young Japanese fashionista, scooter and text, by Brent Meheux
The last in the series, as with the others, is far removed from the original 1980s street fashion and Tokyo sub-cultures, another found image stirring memories of a long-forgotten episode in the artist's life.
Technical Details
The Tokyo Nights series are original artworks by Brent Meheux, started on the iPad using an Apple Pen, via Procreate and then finished in Adobe Photoshop on the iMac. Each of the trio is part of a limited edition of 15 Giclée prints on Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 paper in A2 format, signed, embossed and numbered by the artist.
Please contact me directly for availability and prices.
