Tokyo is immensely crowded, with more than 13.5 million people crammed into just 840 square miles. But William Green found a moment of solitude amidst the chaos in an unlikely place—a street filled with sleeping cabbies.
The London photographer visited Tokyo last spring for a wedding, and decided to work on a few projects over the month-long holiday. None of his ideas were quite working out, until serendipity brought him to a side street downtown around five in the afternoon. There were more than 30 taxis lining the thoroughfare, filled with snoozing drivers. Green witnessed people sleeping in public on a previous trip to China, but there was something about a street full of cabbies napping that interested him. "I guess [in the UK] it’s a vulnerable state so that’s not what you do," he says. "To be in a professional job and sleep in public was fascinating to me."
He proceeded to wander up and down the street, snapping portraits with his Nikon D800E. Green tried to capture the cabbies at different angles, and avoid catching himself in the reflection of the car windows. The photographer eventually noticed a gentleman dressed like a few of the other drivers standing not far away, and explained what he was up to. The man gave his blessing and Green ended up photographing 40 cabs over a two-day period. While one or two drivers stirred, most were unfazed at his presence.
While inemuri, translated "being present while sleeping,"is common in Japan, snoozing on the job is still a novel idea in the west. Studies show napping during the day increases productivity, and designated sleeping pods and rooms are a staple at many Silicon Valley companies. But most US and British professionals still work in nap-free environments. For Green, the most interesting part of inemuri is a private moment taking place out in the open.
"The taxi is really public with loads of people getting in and out all the time," he says. "But you have this situation where they [the drivers] are asleep and the cab becomes a really private space. I was intrigued by the juxtaposition."
