A monthly street fashion column by Yutaro Saito

yutaro saito fashion column — © Yutaro Saito

March 6, 2022. That day, I was in Kamata, Tokyo. The west exit of JR Kamata Station has a plaza and a shopping street bustling with locals. At the entrance to the shopping street, two staff members from the TV show Monday Lateshow 月曜から夜ふかし were out with cameras, scouting for potential participants. I, too, was scanning the passersby from the corner of the plaza, hunting for stylish older men.

As the presence of the TV crew proves, Kamata is never short of curious sights—unkempt middle-aged men or guys loudly riding bicycles. Ironically, such chaos works in my favor. The sensory overload dulls people’s awareness of others, making fashion here more reflective of one’s daily life than in the center of the city.

Because I had a camera hanging around my neck, people mistook me for TV staff and approached me. I ended up chatting with an elderly photography enthusiast for a long time. That sort of thing rarely happens in central Tokyo, but perhaps it’s one of Kamata’s charms—its raw human warmth.

About an hour passed. No one really stood out to me today. Just as I decided to head to the east exit, I saw him. An older man in an all-black Yohji Yamamoto-like outfit, his white hair striking against the dark clothes. He walked heavily through the plaza. This is it, I thought, and I approached him.

YT (Yutaro Saito): “Excuse me, I'm a photographer working on a project about the fashion of older people. Your style really caught my eye—could I please take your photo?”

OJ (Ojiichan): “…Sure.”

Looking sharply into my eyes, he gave a quiet nod. On closer inspection, his complexion didn’t look so good.

YT: “Thank you so much! I love your sweater too—where did you get it?”

OJ: “This one… hmm…”

He began to speak slowly, sharing not just the story of this finely colored sweater, but also his life.

He is now 75. Five years ago, he had surgery for rectal cancer. He bought this sweater for his hospital stay. The surgery was successful, but he still needed regular treatment, so he moved to Kamata to be closer to the hospital. He was on his way there that very day. You could see the exhaustion on his face—likely the toll of illness and stress.

YT: “I see… I hope your recovery goes well. Did you buy that jacket at the same time too?”

The jacket’s collar was worn and stained—it looked like it had seen many years. Perhaps it too had accompanied him through that hospital stay.

OJ: “Yeah… I think I bought this one back then too.”

As I suspected. The jacket’s padding was crushed in places, the shine worn off from years of wear. But perhaps for this man, that jacket was a loyal comrade—a veteran of his battle with cancer.

There was one thing I couldn’t ignore. Although it was early spring, it was still cold—I remember I was wearing a Nuptse jacket. Yet the old man had on Crocs. In my experience, older folks with illness or weakened legs usually wear cushioned running shoes. Why Crocs in this weather?

YT: “Aren’t those Crocs cold?”

OJ: “These are the only shoes I can wear now. My feet are swollen from my illness.”

I see. That makes sense. I recall a classmate in middle school who wore Crocs over his cast after breaking his leg. But these Crocs… they carried a different kind of weight.

A middle schooler’s broken leg is, in a way, full of hope. It will heal, the cast will come off, and maybe they’ll even be the center of attention on their first day back to school. There’s a vitality and a thrill to the injury—an extraordinary moment in an otherwise ordinary life. In that sense, a student’s Crocs symbolize hope and recovery.

But this old man’s Crocs did not feel hopeful. He’s no longer a middle schooler. Will the swelling in his feet go down? Will he ever wear his favorite shoes again? Neither he nor I could say. And perhaps because of that—perhaps because he may wear only Crocs for the rest of his life—his Crocs held a strong meaning within his fashion style. But, was it strength? Or was it weakness?

That day, I found myself slightly uncomfortable with how cool I thought his styling was.