On the south-eastern shore of Shinobazu Pond filled with juicy water lilies in Ueno Park in Tokyo, there is a special place from which, I am not quite sure why, I use to photograph the other side, which is likewise filled – with buildings. Interestingly, none of these images – and as Ueno is one of my favourite refuges in Tokyo, I have been quite a frequent visitor in the last twenty years ­– is ever the same. Not only are the leaves and flowers in the foreground in the inevitable change of the seasons and more immediate local impacts, but the background itself is in an almost constant process of nearly natural growth, but decomposition as well – a genuine urban landscape.