WHO I FILMED: TOKYO
WHO I FILMED
When I saw Takeshi Hosaka’s tiny (11 feet wide by 33 feet deep) “Love House” he built for he and his partner on a random Instagram reel, I knew I had to make the short pilgrimage to experience it myself next time I was in Tokyo. Graciously he agreed to see me and I took the train to Yokohama.
The house has an unassuming white modern facade that stands out in its neighborhood. A single lemon tree grew outside the door.
His partner Megumi answered the door. Takeshi meanwhile after greeting me, tucked himself in the small bedroom at the foot of the stairs so that I might walk up and experience his work unobstructed. Light poured down on a tall tree planted in the central open air courtyard of the stairwell that curves up. This is the only way that light, wind and rain enter through the house. There is no electricity.
Their English was extremely limited and I have never been so discouraged at myself for not speaking Japanese. I felt their warmth and great intelligence and longed for a deep conversation.
When I wrote onto my Google translate that I was just back from my honeymoon, Megumi immediately cut the the ripest lemons from their tree. I took it back to my hotel and placed it on the bed to await my beloved’s return from work.
As the sky grew dark, I thought of Takeshi and Megumi tucking themselves into bed the way we were. But while we were high up in a skyscraper and we controlled when to turn off our room’s lights, they no doubt read their books until they no longer could and then walked downstairs without fear in the dark and wrapped themselves in the moonlight that streamed in.
