
Kotoden
- Publisher
- Akaaka Art Publishing
- Year
- 2012
- ISBN
- 978-4-903545-82-0
- Specifications
- Softcover
210 x 297 mm
112 pages
Art direction by Bumpei Yorifuji
The rising photographer GABOMI photographed the Busshozan workshop of the private Kotoden railway (Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad) in Takamatsu, Kagawa, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. Unknown even to local people, the factory takes in old retired trains from all over Japan and rebuilds them with great skill, almost entirely by hand, making even the parts, the tools, the desks and the staff bathroom themselves; it is the heart of Kotoden. The musician Shigeru Kishida of Quruli praises the craftsmanship, the pride of the workers and the care for the workplace that he calls Kotoden power. As railway technology and knowledge have been passed down from person to person over many years and the age of rolling stock may change greatly, GABOMI's record photographs purely convey the present and will keep the scenery of the factory and the spirit of those who work there in people's hearts across time.