Japan

Photography

In search of authentic Japanese rope bondage culture

(NSFW) Shibari’s popularity has boomed worldwide. Yet in Tokyo, Kinbaku remains an underground affair, connected to the sex industry and practiced by cult icons like Akira Naka.

Written by: Manami Okazaki

Photography

Inside Japan’s most notorious Love Hotel

Tokyo’s Alpha Inn has provided a vital home for underground erotic expression and Japan’s BDSM community – but can this iconic space survive?

Written by: Manami Okazaki

Photography

Photos documenting Japan’s underground subcultures

From the Yakuza to a biker youth gang known as the Bosozoku, Bruce Gilden recounts capturing Tokyo and Osaka in the ‘90s.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Culture

Documenting the tradition of Japan’s female pearl divers

The ama — Photographer Stefan Dotter recalls travelling to the city of Toba to capture a community of women who are among the very few keeping an ancient deep-sea diving custom alive.

Written by: Huck

Culture

Inside the soaring Pokémon trade fuelled by lockdown

Gotta Catch Em’ All — With the pandemic triggering widespread nostalgia, many have found themselves returning to childhood favourites like Pokémon, which turned 25 this year. And now, card traders are raking in hundreds of thousands by capitalising on the growing demand.

Written by: Gunseli Yalcinkaya

Culture

The dystopian megacities of anime architecture

Brave new world — A new book celebrating the creative process behind Japan's animated cityscapes offers both architectural escapism and bold imaginings of a near future.

Written by: Gunseli Yalcinkaya

Photography

Kai Fusayoshi reflects on a life shooting the streets of Kyoto

In his own words — After a fire destroyed his life's work, Japanese photographer Kai Fusayoshi was ready to give up. Now a new exhibition of his remaining work has him reflecting on the happier times and his incredible career.

Written by: Kai Fusayoshi (as told to Marigold Warner)

Culture

Gritty images of everyday life on the streets of Tokyo

Unexpected beauty — Photographer Tatsuo Suzuki discusses his compelling portraits of contemporary Tokyo, and finding fascination and tensions in the mundane.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Magazine

A humorous look at Japanese family life, in photos

No place like home — For over a decade, photographer Motoyuki Daifu has been documenting the lives of his loved ones, seeking out quiet moments of magic among the mundane.

Written by: Motoyuki Daifu

Photography

An outsider’s take on 21st century Japan

Independent Mysteries — Since first visiting as a tourist, photographer Michael Magers has been enchanted by Japan. His new book collates work from the past eight years, in which he‘s captured a country bursting with ‘endless possibility’.

Written by: Huck

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