Belfast-born photographer Philip Arneill’s latest project

Description

"A culture that stretches back to the Pacific Ocean liners of the early 20th-century, where Japanese guests listened to orchestras playing foxtrot swings and proto-jazz compositions, and onto the postwar jazz boom, when Blakey, and other legends of the genre, from Sonny Rollins to John Coltrane to Thelonious Monk, performed in the country’s music halls.

But it was one particular aspect of this culture that caught the attention of Belfast-born photographer Philip Arneill, who spent 20 years living in Japan before returning home in 2017...

As Arneill considered the distinct character and atmosphere that defines Japan’s jazz kissa, and reflected on the inevitable disappearance of this hidden culture, he came to a realisation: Maybe he should start shooting some of these places.

So, he set out to preserve in photos as many Japanese jazz kissa as possible before they closed their doors forever."