On April 27th, 2007, the worldwide famous Russian cellist and conductor, who was also the symbol of democratic movement in USSR, Mstislav Rostropovich, passed away in Moscow at the age of eighty. His best friend Sozhenitsyn said in his condolence, “Mstislav’s passing is an unbearable loss to Russian Culture.” Whenever this legendary giant performed in Tokyo, he would always visit a site that was just as well-known as this great artist -- “the Tsukiji F ish M arket”.

Besides experiencing the exotic Asian culture and tasting the delicacies in various food stands, Rostropovich also led his orchestra members to appreciate the Tsukiji scenery in the early morning to show his love to the Tsukiji F ish M arket. Rostropovich thought that it was valuable and necessary to constantly engage with people, work and surroundings through high energy and passion, just like the people of Tsukiji . Highly sensitive to sound, he even described the natural beats and sounds in the market as -- “Listening to Tsukiji is like (listening to) an inherent and natural Japanese symphony full of cultural characteristics. To Japan, Tsukiji is the hometown of the heart”.

Among the work subjects from the different period of my life, Tsukiji is my earliest devotion, and the longest so far. From around the end of 1993 till now, every year when I go to Tokyo on a business or personal trip, I always visited and mingled in the morning crowd of Tsukiji. Therefore, to me, Tsukiji  F ish M arket also seems to be a hometown of my heart that is far but actually close.

What makes Tsukiji so powerful that it has lured me for the past 17 years? Its exterior visual surprises, the cultural differences, the tempting food, its industrial secrets , or something more? I smile as I think of my friends, who are either wordless or full of wonder whenever they hear of anther of my trip to Tsukiji ,

I consider the question seriously. The initial visual surprises and the culture differences in and around Tsukiji  indeed created the first powerful attraction . However, what on earth is the hidden dynamic of Tsukiji that keeps a creator under its spell for such a long time?

It turns out to be the calling of destiny.

The mess of the flowing traffic, the melody of the vivid tempo, the bursting crowdedness , the fast-moving people, the seemly violent tenderness, the intriguing craftsmanship, the old-world and nostalgic charm, the culinary arts that makes one linger , the pride of one’s life-long post, the thrill of instant win - or-lose, the ardent directness, and the casual ease towards orders in chaos.

In addition, Rostropovich’s gentle and profound melody underscores the unhurried breeze ; sometime cool and sometime warm, it alternates as the seasons change.

Due to its ancient facilities and limited space, Tsukiji Fish Market struggles to deal with the expanding business. It will be demolished and moved by 2016 . The once flourishing and glorious current Tsukiji site will fade into history. With this book, I pay my sincere tribute to Tsukiji , the fellow Tsukiji-devotee Rostropovich , and the memory of my vanishing Tsukiji-youth-of-no-regrets.

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