Fusako Kodama, Omori, Tokyo, 1979 © Fusako Kodama / Chose Commune

Episode 5: Playing in the city

For this new episode of CC Stories, we invite you to explore cities  occupied by children; who have made them their favourite playground. Hidden corners, streets, vacant lots, and parks become spaces—sometimes non-spaces—welcoming the singular rhythm of children. From their vantage point, the city is a realm of infinite possibilities.

Fusako Kodama (between 1960 and 1980), Mikiko Hara (between 1996 and 2021), and Vasantha Yogananthan (in 2022) capture how children claim those spaces as their own and how their presence has evolved. A tribute to these little beings who, better than adults, know how to navigate and transform space, carving out a world just for themselves.

Left: Mikiko Hara, Small Myths © Mikiko Hara / Chose Commune. Right: Vasantha Yogananthan, Mystery Street © Vasantha Yogananthan / Chose Commune

“Children unwittingly become part of society. They learn to be together. The participants in Mystery Street are all between eight and twelve years old: they are no longer children and not yet teenagers. They aren’t entirely trying to hide their vulnerabilities yet. This is an age that marks the end of a certain innocence and the beginning of integrating social codes. It is also the beginning of strong emotions and friendships. It is a transitional period”. Vasantha Yogananthan, excerpt from the conversation with Taous Dahmani.

Fusako Kodama, Asakusa,Tokyo, 1976 © Fusako Kodama / Chose Commune

In the bustling, modernizing Japan captured by Fusako Kodama, the street becomes an extension of the garden, the park, and the home. Children play in groups, wander, laugh—sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone—dreaming and even drawing directly on the ground. Without concern for time, their right to be there, or the need to do anything in particular, they simply inhabit the space.

Left: Mikiko Hara, Small Myths © Mikiko Hara / Chose Commune. Right: Vasantha Yogananthan, Mystery Street © Vasantha Yogananthan / Chose Commune

“Movement is also the children’s freedom: if they want to move beyond the frame, they do it without asking me and “construct” the image through this movement”. Vasantha Yogananthan, excerpt from the conversation with Taous Dahmani.

Fusako Kodama, Tsurumi - Kawasaki, Kanaagawa,1976 © Fusako Kodama / Chose Commune

With Fusako Kodama, children almost blend into the scenery; they are as much the subject as the place they inhabit. What matters to her is capturing a movement, a fleeting moment, a forward momentum.

Left: Mikiko Hara, Small Myths © Mikiko Hara / Chose Commune. Right: Vasantha Yogananthan, Mystery Street © Vasantha Yogananthan / Chose Commune

“The camera frames scenes that I seem to see but do not see, bringing discoveries. I gather the fragments that emerge from my act of photographing. It is neither an affirmation nor a negation.” — Mikiko Hara

For her, human figures serve as a pretext; though they are full subjects, it is not easy to define her photographs as portraits. Children appear like fleeting instants, contributing to an atmosphere that is both vivid and ephemeral. With Vasantha Yogananthan, children are identified as subjects. His series Mystery Street is mainly composed of portraits—children are the main characters in a narrative that reflects their world.