BOOK | Photographer Shiori Kawamoto Discusses Her First Photo Collection, "Daraku Heya"
BOOK | Shiori Kawamoto Explains Her First Photo Collection, 'Daraku Heya'
On 'Daraku Heya': The Meaning of 'Daraku' as 'Daraku'
A revealing look into the rooms and portraits of otaku women—fans of manga, anime, games, idols, trains, movies, figures, and more! As I wrote in the afterword of the photo collection, what exactly is a 'daraku heya' (fallen room)? It's a term some idols used to describe the messy state of their shared dormitory.
This project began when I casually mentioned that story. A few days later, I started visiting the rooms of these devoted fans.
Text by KAWAMOTO Shiori
Once you've fallen as far as you can for your own desires, the only way left is up.
There's nothing but a bright future ahead! That's the essence of 'Daraku Heya.'
Expanding my scope to Osaka, I completed my first-ever non-self-published photo collection, 'Daraku Heya.' The rooms, filled with an unidentifiable energy, exuded zero sense of decline. They were brimming with a power that suggested they had nowhere to go but up.
So, here are three key points about this photo collection.
Featuring idols I've been following for years!
• Each room's photograph is paired with a portrait of its inhabitant.
• At the end of the book, you'll find data for each featured person, along with my personal comments.
• The idols I've been photographing for years are featured here. It's deeply moving to see how my long-term pursuit has connected in this way.
My request to you: When viewing the photos, please examine every corner. From the book spines on the shelves to the stickers placed in unexpected spots, there are countless details to discover and appreciate. I hope you'll look through it again and again, read it, enjoy it, and find your own 'daraku' (pleasure in decline).
As for me, with the release approaching, I'm starting to feel a bit drained and am succumbing to 'daraku' myself...
<From the obi (book band)>
Featuring 50 individuals: a gaming idol who sings and dances amidst game consoles and exotic snacks; a designer whose handmade masks are scattered about; a Goth performer who uses her dressing room as her personal space; an actor in traditional Japanese theater with phallic decor; a housewife living in a mansion; a University of Tokyo graduate student researching horror games; a theater troupe member (corporate slave) whose treasure is a crushed tissue box; a horse-loving pony girl from Osaka; an office lady who loves BL; a patissier whose collecting habit won't stop; an idol buried in clothes; and more.
<Featured Individuals>
Ai Madonna / Mirin Furukawa (Denpagumi.inc) / brown_bunny / Mademoiselle Anna / Mio Atobe / Kaneko / borutanext5 / Koji / Naka / Kichi / Meso Meso / KISHIKO / Homare Shinkai / Mako Principal / Nanae Mito / Yotaro / Sena Asagiri / Miya Miyamoto (@mi8_r) / Hirokoten / Marika Tani / Nanae / Nanai / Sakura Nanase / YUKI FUJISAWA / Ryu Miyazaki / Sasakama Risuko / Nancy / Nikumaru Shirai / Miku Oguri / Nijiiro Pony / Sakurako / Suzumaru Tachibana / Sana Sonokawa / Piyoyo Masuda / Maho Shimao / Yui Sugata / Tamaki Sakurai / Natsuko Taniguchi / Otaro Shiro Mizu / Yamato Yamada / Kurt / Theresa Rei Sakurai / Tomoheso / Ayako Takagi “UAMOU” / Yako / Haruka Yamada / Moe Yamazaki / Yuniko Morishita / Nemuri Yumemi (Denpagumi.inc)
'Daraku Heya' (Fallen Room)
By Shiori Kawamoto
160 pages, full color / B5 variant /
List price: ¥1,900 (excluding tax) / Graphicsha
On sale January 25, 2013, at bookstores nationwide
Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4766124618/
Shiori Kawamoto
http://www.shiorikawamoto.com/