On the morning of 7 June 2007, a large crowd gathered on the grounds of Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo. Some people waved flags, others held up colourful cardboard signs with slogans. Near by, a gaggle of journalists were setting up.
This was not unusual. Though Yasukuni is a private institution, it bills itself as a national war memorial for the repose of the souls of nearly 2.5 million soldiers and civilians who died fighting the wars of Imperial Japan. It thus attracts a daily stream of visitors, from ordinary citizens who come to pray for a deceased family member to war veterans and the merely curious. Little of this raises eyebrows.
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Ducky Tse was an established photographer in Hong Kong when, at the age of fifty, he decided to uproot and relocate to Taiwan. He bought a van and refurbished it, driving it around the country. Through his photographs, he reflects on a new chapter of his life.
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‘Tò-uat’ means ‘turn left’ in Taiwanese Hokkien—a signal of political orientation rather than literal direction—and the bookstore’s website describes itself as “Taiwan’s only social movement–focused bookstore”.
- Tags: Issue 34, Lee Teng-hui, Martin Laflamme, Taiwan