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
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
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
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
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
SADA ABE: Japan’s Showa Sex Scandal
By the age of 31 - Sada Abe was the most notorious woman in Japan and at the center of a murderous sex scandal that shocked the Showa era public
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
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
YAMA-ICHI KOSO: Kansai’s bloody Yakuza war
The 1981 death of Kazuo Taoka - the “Godfather of Godfathers” - left a power void in the Yamaguchi yakuza and led to a crime war that would ravage the streets of Kansai for almost 10 years
GUNKAN-JIMA: Japan’s ghost town at sea
We take a look at Japan’s abandoned ghost town floating at sea on a battleship shaped island