Tokyo Rising: An Urban Exploration with Pharrell Williams by Palladium
Given his love for Japan’s unique aura and his stake in BAPE’s subsidiary brand Billionaire Boys Club, vintage footwear luminaries Palladium could not have picked a better lead for their online series than one-half of N.E.R.D. himself, Pharrell Williams.
Returning to the Land of the Rising Sun after the disastrous events of March 11th, 2011, Skateboard P tours the many hidden gems throughout Tokyo during the documentary, entitled ‘Tokyo Rising: An Urban Exploration with Pharrell Williams’. The five-part webisodic series explores the collective resilience of Tokyo’s inhabitants as they continue to recover from the earthquake and tsunami combination that rocked Japan to its core, causing thousands to lose their lives and nuclear accidents resembling the tragedy of Chernobyl.
Venturing into a progressive Japan post-3/11 armed with only a cameraman and a mixture of fascination and curiosity, Pharrell chats with a number of creative minds, including Teriyaki Boyz rapper Verbal and Trippple Nippples singer Yuka Uchida among other artists and musicians, listening to their tales of experiencing the horrifying disaster first-hand, whether it be inside their homes or on the train to the city, and recounting their fear and bewilderment of witnessing hazard on a scale not seen before, which is unusual even for a country where seismic shocks are as normal as luminous neon colours.
And despite the horror and confusion of the Great Japan Earthquake still fresh on their inhabitants’ minds, their unorthodox approach to the cultural aspects of life that has long become their trademark continues to thrive despite the many obstacles that block their path to complete restoration. Palladium’s uniquely urban take on Tokyo’s road to renaissance showcases the many methods that creativity has been impacted and inspired by 3/11, including a poignant collage documenting the damage in the Tohoku region of Japan (where the earthquake hit hardest) taken by random photographers described by an art curator as the “images not displayed by the media”, and a collective belief that “war and terrorism promote a colourless world” – a motivational factor behind their love of vivid hues and vibrant shades.
After completing the fifth part of this interesting take on Japan’s ongoing rise from the ashes, Tokyo Rising: An Urban Exploration has only elevated my desire to follow in my mother’s footsteps and visit Japan one day, a country that has remained a fascination since my childhood days of trading Pokemon cards. The arts continue to be the forefront of Japanese culture and lifestyle during a transitional phase of rebuilding lost or destroyed communities, celebrating life through the virtues of creative advancement that only they know how.
You can watch Episode 1 of Tokyo Rising below. Watch the whole series at Palladium’s website here.
Words by Oumar S. Mussa
