Customer Reviews

Tokyo Lucky Hole (English and German Edition)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Araki is not for everybody. If you are turned off by nude, erotic images, then you should probably avoid it. If you are disgusted or horrified by candid documentary footage of the sex industry then again, you will want to avoid this book.

I liked this book for several reasons. In the first place, the photographs--regardless of how you feel about the subject matter--are quite good. More importantly the collection of a whole accomplishes something important. It reveals the various sex clubs and love hotels of Tokyo in the 1980s within a normal social context. Pictures of salary men fondling a gogo dancer are mixed with normal shots of a crowded street or a restaurant. The message here is very clear. The sex industry is not only a product of society, but also it is a part of society.

I have been interested in prostitution ever since reading Foucault's "History of Sexuality" and "Power/Knowledge". Foucault argues that prostitution is form of regulating society. If people must have their sexual urges then fine--let them go to some shameful secretive area and pay for it. But don't them experience sexuality on their own terms.

Once can clearly see this in Araki's photographs. Salary men with still wearing their ties sit around a circular stage watching a topless dancer. Some draw lots to see who can go on stage to perform sexual acts with her. Why are these men doing this instead of going out, and having an affair with someone? The answer is simply that it is more productive for Japanese society to have these men work long hours and come to a highly regulated place for release.

Araki's work is more of a documentary than anything else. It is not meant to stimulate anyone in a pornographic manner and it is not meant to glorify its subject matter. Araki places the Japanese sex industry in a realistic and somewhat humorous context. This is probably what makes so many readers uncomfortable.

The man is a genius. Take the cover photo. He didn't just throw a [woman] in a shower and snap some photos--though that may be a salutory idea. Compare it to the companion photo in the sample photos. The light and therefore the shadows, have moved, the towel has moved, and in both pictures the contours of the light, the shadow, and the folds of the towel track and repeat lines created by the model's pose. There are three circles in the cover photo--the shower hose, the model's [figure], and her face, and the cascade of water seems to close the circle created by the shower hose. Throughout the book are amazing photos like this, with stunning elements of light and composition, although there is a reason why this one is on the cover. You occasionally see Araki in the photos, although never without his sunglasses (or in one case, a mask). If you have any interest in photography at all, you should buy this book.

rapid and serious, I receive the book before the date !
a pefect book for an amazing photograph !
I will check for more books now.
it's pretty rare in france.

These pictures were not taken in China.
This's about 70s sexual industry in Tokoyo,Japan.

This book is a great collection of Nobuyoshi Araki's Photographs. With this book one can take a peek into Tokyo's night life, through quite provocative B/W photos. The only disadvantage of this book is the image proportions (14X@)cm. I would prefer it in A4 Format.

These women look totally fresh and happy, I kept having to ask myself, "Do they REALLY look happy, or are they covering up their true feelings?" But man, they sure look like they are having a good time. I envied them! Even the men look kind of sweet and happy. Go figure.

The photographs gives you the feeling of being present in the moment. Cool work..

A magnificent exploration of the underbelly of Japanese culture. One of our biggest selling books filled with rude pictures and miniturisation.

There's an amazing quote on the back cover of this book, something along the lines of, "Without obscenity, our cities are dreary places and life is bleak." And wholeheartedly agreeing - the Disneyfication of NYC 42nd Street to my mind rips the heart out of the city - I plunge in. What do I find? Nothing much that's terribly obscene, merely sorta sad and tawdry. The only thing that seperates it from a technically accomplished photodocumentation of a fratboy bachelor party is the mild millennial frisson the [gaijin] reader gets from the Tokyo floating-world setting. The Kenneth Starrs of the world (and there are lots, wouldn't you know) will find plenty to gasp at - "Look! She's got his penis in her mouth! Shocking!". But for the rest of us, Araki-san and his many imitators will have to do better if they truly want to save us from our sterilized, sanitized, thoroughly G-rated future.

Over 700 pages of black & white photographs. Candidly taken photos of some attractive and some not so women. Quite a party atmosphere as all seem to be having fun.