Asahi Camera
Due to existing heart problems, Tōmatsu received heart bypass surgery in 1986 and moved to Chiba as part of his recovery.  While in Chiba, he roamed the beaches near his home and photographed the debris that washed up onto on the black sand shores; the resulting photo series was titled "Plastics". Around the same time, he developed his "Sakura" series which first featured in "Asahi Camera" (1983) then released as the book "Sakura Sakura Sakura" (1990). Tomatsu notes how his surgery shifted his interest in the question of survival and mortality, with "Plastics" and "Sakura" demonstrating his increasingly allusive approach towards these themes.