ben leighton 11/8/22 ben leighton 11/8/22

SUKEBAN: delinquent girls

In the 1970s, Sukeban wreaked havoc on the streets of Japan armed with razor blades, bamboo swords, chains and their school uniforms

ben leighton 6/3/22 ben leighton 6/3/22

BURAIHA: The ‘decadents’ of Japan

Known as the “school of irresponsibility and decadence,” the ragtag Buraiha (無頼派) authors became notorious for their nihilistic attitudes and bohemian lifestyles

ben leighton 2/22/22 ben leighton 2/22/22

PAANTU FESTIVAL (パーントゥ)

A terrifying tradition on Miyako-jima sees 3 men dress as monsters and wander the town smearing mud on anyone and anything they see

ben leighton 2/17/22 ben leighton 2/17/22

NAKI SUMO: The Crying Baby Festival

This bizarre annual festival sees two sumo wrestlers hold a baby in a face off with the first to cry winning a blessing of good health

ben leighton 2/15/22 ben leighton 2/15/22

LES RALLIZES DÉNUDÉS

Les Rallizes Dénudés were a seminal and highly mysterious Japanese psychedelic rock band formed at Kyoto’s Doshisha University in 1967

ben leighton 12/8/21 ben leighton 12/8/21

ERO-GURO NANSENSU

Ero-guro nansensu, was a movement that began in the 1930s and took its name from the English words Erotic, Grotesque Nonsense. It reached into all aspects of Japanese media, culture and art and continues in an adapted form today

will lavan 12/4/21 will lavan 12/4/21

KARASU-ZOKU (カラス族)

Lasting from 1982 to 1990, Karasu-zoku (‘crow tribe’) was a Japanese fashion subculture that consisted of wearing androgynous, all-black designer outfits and accessories

ben leighton 11/15/21 ben leighton 11/15/21

LION CAFE: Shibuya’s secret classical music oasis

LION CAFE, a classical music cafe tucked away between love hotels and used underwear shops in the Maruyamacho district, is a relaxing oasis amidst Tokyo’s chaos

ben leighton 11/13/21 ben leighton 11/13/21

JAPAN’S MOST WANTED

Visit any Koban in Japan and you’ll be met with the same faces staring back at you – a wall of wanted posters, or Shimei Tehai (指名手配), showing the rewards offered for Japan’s most dangerous fugitives

ben leighton 8/22/21 ben leighton 8/22/21

COFFEE IN A CAN

Ready-to-drink canned coffee is ubiquitous with Japan. Filling every vending machine across the nation, it first became available in Japan in 1969 thanks to UCC Ueshima Coffee Co

ben leighton 8/9/21 ben leighton 8/9/21

KERA / KEROUAC MAGAZINE: For Eccentric Boys & Girls (1998-2017)

KERA (originally KEROUAC) Magazine first saw publication in 1998 and soon became the defining publication on Harajuku street culture

ben leighton 7/17/21 ben leighton 7/17/21

TOKYO STYLE: Raw Tokyo Living

Kyoichi Tsuzuki’s seminal 1993 book, TOKYO STYLE, is a collection of photographs that display the raw reality of living in Japan’s capital city

ben leighton 7/14/21 ben leighton 7/14/21

FLAMINGO BAR: Tokyo's Gaudy Artist Hangout

Now a shadow of its former self, FLAMINGO BAR in Roppongi was once a vivid crimson hangout for artists, burlesque dancers and advertising executives

ben leighton 7/13/21 ben leighton 7/13/21

1964 OLYMPICS: Tokyo’s Rebirth

1964, the first year that Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games, marked a turning point in post war Japanese society and, for many, announced the rebirth of the nation

ben leighton 6/6/21 ben leighton 6/6/21

SHIGERU MIZUKI: An illustrated guide to Yokai

Shigeru Mizuki, born in Osaka in 1922, was a prolific manga artist often regarded as the master of Japanese Yokai (monster) stories

ben leighton 5/31/21 ben leighton 5/31/21

DEMAEKI: Japan’s enduring contraption

With today’s reliance on apps for food delivery, it’s easy to think of it as an entirely modern phenomenon. In Japan however, food delivery, or demae (出前), goes back 300 years

ben leighton 5/24/21 ben leighton 5/24/21

KINGYO-BU: the goldfish club

In 2012, the KINGYOBU (“goldfish club”) transformed phone booths in Osaka into standing aquariums, providing a visual break from the monotony of city life