in almost every picture.
January 4, 1999
June 13, 1999
June 13, 1999
October 4, 1999
October 11, 1999
October 24, 1999
October 24, 1999
October 24, 1999
November 1, 1999
November 4, 1999
November 15, 1999
November 15, 1999
December 11, 1999
December 11, 1999
January 1, 2000
January 9, 2000
January 9, 2000
January 9, 2000
January 25, 2000
February 10, 2000
February 12, 2000
February 13, 2000
February 21, 2000
March 30, 2000
April 26, 2000
May 26, 2000
May 30, 2000
May 30, 2000
June 26, 2000
July 15, 2000
July 30, 2000
August 15, 2000
August 30, 2000
August 30, 2000
August 30, 2000
September 13, 2000
September 13, 2000
September 15, 2000
September 25, 2000
September 25, 2000
September 25, 2000
September 25, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 28, 2000
September 28, 2000
October 2, 2000
October 11, 2000
October 11, 2000
October 11, 2000
October 27, 2000
October 27, 2000
December 14, 2000
January 2, 2001
January 12, 2001
January 12, 2001
February 23, 2001
March 3, 2001
March 17, 2001
March 17, 2001
March 25, 2001
March 31, 2001
April 27, 2001
April 27, 2001
May 9, 2001
May 22, 2001
June 7, 2001
June 7, 2001
July 21, 2001
July 28, 2001
August 8, 2001
August 18, 2001
September 2, 2001
September 7, 2001
September 23, 2001
October 10, 2001
October 24, 2001
November 1, 2001
November 1, 2001
November 1, 2001
November 1, 2001
November 1, 2001
November 17, 2001
December 1, 2001
December 13, 2001
December 23, 2001
January 1, 2002
January 1, 2002
January 12, 2002
January 16, 2002
February 19, 2002
March 29, 2002
April 19, 2002
May 26, 2002
July 15, 2002
July 15, 2002
July 28, 2002
August 20, 2002
September 28, 2002
September 28, 2002
November 4, 2002
November 4, 2002
November 13, 2002
December 16, 2002
January 1, 2003
January 1, 2003
March 21, 2003
May 18, 2003
September 21, 2003
September 22, 2003
September 23, 2003
September 23, 2003
September 23, 2003
September 23, 2003
This is a tribute to a Japanese rabbit named after a Chinese tea. It’s also the story of high-technology,
true love, and an unusually flat head.
The images you’ve seen date from the first wave of photoblogging. At the turn of the century, digital
technology had advanced to the point where users could easily bring their images to public view. One of the more popular photoblogging pioneers was a professional photographer by the name of Hironori Akutagawa. Hironori’s most frequent subject was Oolong, his pet rabbit, who he showed in image bank style beauty shots. This was centrefold photography with a real bunny (as opposed to the bottle blonde Valley Girl variety): Oolong reclining in a meadow at sunset, Oolong with a flower in his hair gazing wide-eyed into the camera, and so on.
But amongst the softcore bunny-loving, a fascinating trend was emerging. Hironori noticed that
Oolong’s head formed a miniature plateau, a tiny mantelpiece on which all kinds of objects could be displayed. In a counterpoint to his regular pieces, the photographer began experimenting with snap-shot portraits of his favourite rabbit, each showing the subject with a different commonplace item balanced on his pate.
The very first of Oolong’s acrobatic tricks depicted our rabbit with another rabbit’s skull on top of his
own. From this early comment on mortality, Oolong proceeded to lighter subjects. He had a particular fondness for food and major world events. Yoghurt, fruit and various kinds of sweets all featured, with cookies and cakes recurring most frequently. References to the 2000 Olympic games, the Millennium and even the Twin Towers also weighed on Oolong’s mind. Shortly after 911 the rabbit appeared with a tiny homemade Stars and Stripes.
When he wasn’t marking major historical moments, Oolong was busy balancing other rabbits. Toy
bunnies perched atop our hero’s noggin, sometimes two or three at a time, forming a kind of rabbit display team. These games had the effect of humanizing Oolong, giving the impression that he cared, that he had a sense of humour.
The series lasted from 1999 until 2003, when fate intervened and ended Oolong’s antics… by ending
Oolong himself. Terminally ill, fading fast, his final moments were recorded on camera, our star now sprawled on his deathbed or propped up with a sick bucket. Soon, the toy rabbits he performed with came to pay their final respects. With that, the tale came full circle: the plucky young creature who once balanced a fellow rabbit’s skull on his head had himself become a victim.
The last photograph we have shows Oolong’s grave. Here, what appear to be his ears (but are actually
carrots) mark his resting place in Hokkaido’s frozen winter soil. It was the end to a peculiar love affair, played out between a man, his rabbit, dozens of everyday items, and more than a million internet users across the planet.
A KesselsKramer book. December 2009. Collected and edited by Erik Kessels. Photographs by Hironori Akutagawa. www.fsinet.or.jp/~sokaisha/rabbit/rabbit Words by Christian Bunyan. Published by KesselsKramer Publishing, Lauriergracht 39, 1016 RG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Publisher contact: Kyra Müller, kyra@kesselskramer.nl Distributed by Idea Books, idea@ideabooks.nl Pre-press and printing by Aeroprint. ISBN 978-90-70478-28-5 www.kesselskramerpublishing.com