The Highlight of 『My Freedamn! Vol.5』: Skulls!

—Regarding the specific contents, what are the key highlights this time?

TanakaThe main feature this time is, quite frankly, skulls. Among vintage clothing enthusiasts, skulls are considered one of the top three most valuable motifs. Sukajan jackets with skulls are particularly rare and command very high prices. This book features many of them. Here are photos of over a dozen skull Sukajan jackets; I believe fewer than 50 exist worldwide. Actually, these photos weren't taken all at once; I made it a point to photograph them every time I encountered someone who owned one. They are incredibly rare finds.

—How did you go about photographing them?


—You personally carry your equipment and go to take the photos, right?

TanakaYes. I use simple equipment and shoot on location. I only adjust exposure in three stages, but after taking thousands of photos, I rarely miss the mark.

—Looking at them again, Sukajan jackets are really something else.

TanakaIt's wonderful that Japanese people made them. A Japanese-born Fifties style. A unique Fifties style.

From 『My Freedamn! Vol.5』 pp. 112-113

You've Probably Handled More Originals Than Anyone in the World

—The studded belts in this book are also incredible.

TanakaThese are from the collection of the person who popularized this style. He owns at least 100, and we photographed as many as could fit into the pages. I suspect that in about 20 years, these will become very difficult to find.

—It's amazing that you get to see all these things firsthand.

TanakaThe more I see, the less I want to own them. There's no end to it. But it feels good just to look at and touch them.

—When you look at so many vintage clothes, do you feel a sense of the people who wore them?

TanakaI don't have any psychic abilities... (laughs). Jokes aside, truly great items have a life of their own. They have a different scent.