Raw Japan

from Photographers Blog:

Samurais in South Africa

I arrived in South Africa with the Japan team filled with excitement and an acute feeling of anxiety. Never mind that I would be on the scene to cover the world's biggest sporting event, and never mind that I would be competing against the top sports photographers from around the globe to get the best pictures. For a Reuters photographer like myself dedicated to a single team, when your team drops out of the competition, you're finished. Like the defeated team, you go back to the hotel, pack your bags and spend the long flight home wondering what went wrong. Based on Japan's lackluster showing in the East Asia Soccer Championship my expectation for Japan was three defeats in a row and no victories. Mine would be a short stay in South Africa.

But during Japan's first match against Cameroon the Samurai Blue seemed to transform themselves in front of my eyes with Keisuke Honda’s goal being the catalyst. Japan was defeated by the Netherlands in their second match but the Samurais demonstrated the unity of the team in their performance and they were victorious against Denmark in their third match. In doing so they completely wiped out the image that I held of the Japan team before going into the competition. I was covering the world's biggest sporting event, and I was going up against the top sports photographers, but in this World Cup Japan's victory meant that the formidable teams of France and Italy and the even more formidable photographers accompanying them were going home. Not me.

On June 29, 2010, Japan faced Paraguay in World Cup match 55. Even after extra time the game remained scoreless and a penalty shoot-out would determine the outcome. I moved into position according to the instructions of Chief Photographer UK and Ireland Dylan Martinez, the leader of the Reuters photographers for this match.

A penalty shoot-out is all about luck. The psychologically intense method of deciding a match seems especially hard on the players, but it's just as tough on the photographers with a split second making the difference between front pages around the world or a postage stamp-sized picture on page S15. Both the players and the photographers tuned out the screaming of the crowd and focused with tense stillness on the battle between the penalty kicker and the goalkeeper. My position was on the opposite side of the pitch allowing me to see the face of the goalkeeper. Japan’s goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, who had saved many shots up to then, clearly showed the strain. Following the two successful shots by both teams it was Yuichi Komano, Japan’s third kicker’s turn.

Buff, bronze and beautiful

For the national holiday, Sports Day, I had a fitting assignment –  a women’s bodybuilding competition in Tokyo.

It was my first time to cover bodybuilding, and as soon as I entered the venue I heard  cheers from the 1,500 spectators eyeing 68 athletes from across Japan.

I hurried backstage to catch the competitors’ last preparations before the judging, and followed a trail of plastic, blanketing the floor, walls and furniture to protect the surroundings from the oil and skin toner creams covering the contestants.

Opening a door with a plastic-covered knob, I found the waiting room with over 30 bronzed and muscular women in bathing suits, aged from 27 to 56 and preparing for the stage.

In Japan traditionally a woman’s beauty has been in her skin’s whiteness, as well as her subtlety and frailty, as illustrated in the common saying, ”Beautiful women die young.”

But these women here were far from frail. Strong and powerful — they were beautiful in the sense that they were completely devoted to the sport, which I imagine must be a challenge in today’s Japan, where women are still sometimes encouraged to embody the concept of “kawaii”, or cuteness.

from Photographers Blog:

Japanese women celebrate pregnancy with maternity nudes

Tokyo-based photography Kim Kyung-Hoon gains access to pregnant women being photographed for nude maternity portraits, a trend that's on the rise in Japan.

Three years ago, a poster of a nude and heavily pregnant Britney Spears sparked concern in Japan before it was displayed in Tokyo's subways because it was considered "too stimulating" for young commuters.

But today, an increasing number of women who have just one child later in life are flocking to photo studios to have their pregnant bellies photographed to celebrate their bodies during a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"I was so happy during my pregnancy," said 40-year-old Kumiko Yoda, who gave birth to a boy on July 19. "This moment will not come back to me again and these pictures are for my own enjoyment."

Yoda was encouraged by a friend who showed her maternity nude photos that she had had taken of herself and just one month before her baby was born, Yoda discovered maternity photo studio "Ixchel" in Tokyo.

Initially, she posed showing only her belly but as the all-female staff at the studio helped her relax, she posed nude for the camera. The black-and-white pictures are displayed in her home.

Farewell to photogenic Aso

Japan’s voters may have overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Taro Aso at the polls last week, but he and my camera got along just fine.

The 68-year-old makes vigorous gestures with his hands and strong facial expressions. His crooked smirk and his eyes that sometimes seem to be  popping out of his head always gave me a lot of interesting photo choices.

Now the photogenic Aso must pack his bags and hand over the prime ministerial house keys to Yukio  Hatoyama , the leader of the new ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

Hatoyama, once nicknamed “the alien” for his prominent eyes,  is — visually at least — less interesting except for his unruly locks that sometimes blow about in the wind.

The problem for me behind the viewfinder was that Hatoyama was expected  to win by a landslide while Aso was the visual winner.

Surrounded by fluttering Japanese national flags, Aso in shirtsleeves looked vigorous when campaigning and his smile was that of a  winner and his strong hand gestures displayed an eloquence which did not exist in his words.

Elections, obstructions and duct tape

When you pack scores of journalists into a room and they’re all trying to listen to, photograph, and film one person – like the head of a political party – it’s easy to get blocked by the people and things in front of you.

For a photographer, this is the kiss of death. It means not getting a picture. Next, your phone rings with an angry editor on the other end - a brief conversation is followed by a lengthy period of woe and despair. For this and other reasons, photographers go to great lengths to get a good photo position.

For Sunday’s Democratic Party of Japan election event, the first photographers arrived at 2 a.m. for an event that wasn’t expected to start until almost 8 p.m. – 16 hours later. Well before any big event photographers make a land grab vying for the best possible real-estate.

At popular events, once you’re in position it can be difficult to get out again with all the other photographers around. Waiting is just part of the job. Photographers also usually come armed with rolls of duct tape to mark out territory, stickers to place on chairs and tables, and ladders to see over those pesky tall people.

On the other hand, sometimes a little bit of obstruction can make a very interesting picture. Flags, people, and video cameras can be useful objects to “frame” a picture in order to concentrate the viewer’s eye on the subject.

Japan expats clean up Paris

“Japan syndrome” hits about 10 Japanese tourists to Paris a year. The victims are so disappointed at the dirty streets and rude waiters that they succumb to a nervous breakdown at the idea of having wasted a week of leave and savings on a trip to the City of Lights.

There is said to be a psychologist, Japanese of course, who treats these despondent compatriots at the embassy. So when I read about a group of Japanese volunteers who gather once a month to clean the famously cobbled streets of Paris I saw a story.

Place de la Concorde is a busy intersection of ferocious drivers in underpowered cars hurtling past some of the most beautiful architecture in the city. At the epicentre I find a group of 20 Japanese dressed in green tops holding tongs and brooms, with cameras and gloves, waiting for their leader Osamu-san to start the slow march up the Champs Elysees.

I interview Osamu-san. It is stunted and in three languages. His reasons for the group’s existence seem not to require explanation: Paris could be cleaner and so the group is cleaning it up. Simple. “Green Bird – Keep Clean, Keep Green” read their vests. “It’s not so clean in Osaka, either” he says smiling, not wanting to appear superior.

So up the Champs Elysees we go, stooping to pick up cigarette butts and old metro tickets. This isn’t exactly Jakarta, but the quantity of rubbish that fills their bags is astonishing. A street-cleaning truck drives past, its driver watching quizzically as two housewives sweep the beige sand of the walkway.

I wasn’t the only journalist on the scene and every move is photographed, questioned by the six other journalists. The Japanese just carry on stoically, oblivious to the camera shutters clicking, posing politely.

Geriatric porn star at work

As photographers, we’re always looking for quirky and exceptional feature items, so when we got a chance to shoot Japan’s oldest porno star on the job, we knew we couldn’t miss it.

It took six months to open the door to this underground industry before we got to meet 75-year-old Shigeo Tokuda at work this week.

On our way to the movie set, we were excited about finally getting to cover the story, but what we saw during the filming was far from what we had imagined. This was no sleek movie production with sex gods and goddesses. The movie was filmed in a small, old house just outside Tokyo that was too shabby to be called a movie set. The floor was covered with dust and dead cockroaches.

The director – a former porno actor who contracted a permanent slipped disk after exerting himself in more than 1,000 films - said he had paid 20,000 yen ($200) to rent the place for a day. For him, this is a high risk business, as he bears all the expenses. If his movie doesn’t sell, he’s out of pocket.

Another weight on his mind was 75-year-old Tokuda-san’s sexual performance. Any stage-fright from the leading man would mean the director’s expenses were all for nothing. For that reason, the director said he always carried a small bag of stimulants to help induce sexual drive.