This project began with the idea of introducing a small piece of Japan’s history. Japanese culture fascinates people in many different ways, yet not many know how the country transformed into what it is today: a nation rebuilt and redefined by the generation that lived through the late 1960s.
Yoshihiro Suzuki (1941–2023) did not aim to make statements with his photography. Instead, he captured the ordinary moments of his time, the everyday Osaka. His photographs show scenes that might have looked familiar to the same generation all around the world: children playing in the streets, people talking to each other, life moving with energy and simplicity. Today, it’s difficult to take such spontaneous photographs because of privacy concerns. He was not a professional photographer, yet he had a remarkable eye for capturing fleeting, vivid moments.
His daughter-in-law, Yumi Son, based in Berlin, discovered Suzuki’s early photographic archive at his home and brought it back to life as a photo book, EASTBEATS, more than 50 years after the images were taken. It was just one month before he passed away.
