Anton Kusters has spent two years following the Yakuza in Tokyo. Kusters managed to gain access to a Kabukicho-based branch of the Yakuza and has spent some time since then documenting their various activities in some startling images. The results are magnificent photographs and a book that has been released. Kusters has even plans for an exhibition and a documentary film.
The book is called ‘Odo Yakuza Tokyo’ and David Alan Harvey did a great interview with Kusters for BURN Magazine about his new book. It’s a limited edition and there will be only 500 numbered copies sold.
Below an excerpt from the introductory text of the book:
In the hotel bar in Niigata, I’m only slowly starting to understand the extremely subtle social interaction that is continuously happening;
the micro-expressions on the faces, the gestures, the voices and intonations, the body language…As the bar is being evacuated to make room for the godfather having a coffee, everything seems to be strictly organized but at the same
time seems to come naturally: strange, I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do, where to sit, when to talk or when to shut up. It’s like
I literally feel the boundaries, the implicit expectations, and I’m slowly learning when I can move forward, and when to best hold back.Sitting at the table with a bodyguard looking straight through me, I drink my iced coffee. I’m feeling the acute sensation of walking on eggshells.
All images copyright by Anton Kusters. copypasteculture.
