The Final Touches Are the Real Battle

—The editing process for a book of this caliber must be quite demanding.

TanakaI always shoot right up until the last minute before starting the editing. But the real work begins after I've laid everything out. It's about how much further I can push it from there. Most books released today are stopped at that point, largely due to time and cost constraints. But I find myself obsessing over those final touches.

—What exactly does that process involve?

TanakaI add more elements. The designers really dislike it when I bring in more photos, but it's common for me to add 200 extra shots. As I look at the layout, I often feel something is missing. So, I go out and shoot again. That's why I'm always shooting until the very last moment. For this book, I returned to Japan for about a month for the final proofreading, and during that time, I still went out to shoot what was needed domestically. With magazines, the deadlines are so strict that you have to accept limitations. But with books, I can afford to extend the process. So, I push it to the limit. Books are permanent records, and I don't want to create something I'll regret later.

—How do you feel about the finished product?

TanakaI actually never look at my books after they're completed. It's too disheartening (laughs). There are always things I wish I had done differently.

Things You Can Only See When You're Not in America

—Speaking of which, when you decided to move to America ten years ago, was it with the intention of creating this series?

TanakaI had various reasons for wanting to move to America, but it's true that conducting this kind of research would have been difficult if I hadn't been living there. There's a lot you can only understand by observing over a long period. When I first published the book on leather jackets, I was still living in Japan and would travel to America once or twice a year for research, but a few weeks just isn't enough for thorough research. Now, I can just wait and observe. In an extreme case, I can wait for six months. In that sense, it would be physically impossible to research American culture without living in America.

—So, when an opportunity arises to shoot, you capture things that seem interesting?



—That approach sounds incredibly appealing.

TanakaI believe it's the right approach for books. However, I don't dislike the tension of creating magazines on a tight schedule. It's a matter of methodology; for me, it has to be high-end. Nowadays, if you're just looking for information, there's the internet and free papers. We're in an era where things are either free or cost ¥8,000, aren't we? If you do things halfway, users will dismiss them lightly.

—I see, that certainly makes sense. We're greatly anticipating Vol. 6. Thank you very much for your time today.

TanakaThank you as well. It was my pleasure.