Book review: Japanese Goth by Tiffany Godoy and Ian Vartanian

Japan has undoubtedly exercised a great influence over the world of fashion, thanks to talented designers who have become famous in the West for their minimalist or deconstructivist collections, but also to those trends and subcultures such as the Gothic Lolita and Gothic Punk, spread by Japanese teens and young adults and quickly adopted worldwide.

Tokyo-based writer and creative consultant Tiffany Godoy and author and editor Ian Vartanian try to analyse these alternative cultures in the volume Japanese Goth (Universe) through art, illustrations, music, fashion and photography.

I recently got a review copy, so what follows is a quick analysis of the book to give you an idea about its contents.

The volume opens with a short essay by Novala Takemoto, the novelist behind Kamikaze Girls, the 2004 book that was adapted to the screen by Tetsuya Nakashima, becoming a cult film for many girls addicted to the Gothic Lolita lifestyle.

The author attempts to define the meaning behind the definition “Gothic Lolita fashion” in his essay and explains how these three words actually resist any classification as they define qualities that go beyond frilly skirts and lace umbrellas, encompassing art, music and literature.

Takemoto perfectly highlights in his introductory essay how elements that may be considered as contrasting such as Rococo and gothic, sweet and dark undertones, the macabre and light-hearted aesthetics, primitiveness and elegance are actually different sides of the same coin in Japan.

Godoy and Vartanian then proceed to analyse various themes through 11 sections, each of them illustrated with drawings, photographs and fashion photo shoots.

The links between Yoh’s elaborate yet dreamy monochromatic illustrations and inky black designs by Comme des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto are established; references to Victorian dress, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita are traced in Kira Imai’s sweet illustrations and in the designs by brands such as Baby, the Stars Shine Bright and Alice and the Pirates while gender roles and gender-bending are explored through photographs of vocalist Kaya and bands Phantasmagoria and Versailles Philharmonic Quintet.

An entire section is dedicated to the “Eros” theme as seen by artist Takato Yamamoto in his illustrations that mix hedonism, bondage and erotic inspirations and evoke the Japanese fascination with ero-guro (or Erotic Grotesque Nonsense, a Japanese 1920-30s literary and artistic movement).

But art fans will be able to admire in the pages of the book the work of many other artists, from Mitsukazu Mihara and Ayami Kojima’s manga-style illustrations to Masaru Shichinohe’s paintings that feature colours and perspectives that call to mind the art of the Meiji period; from Toru Kamei’s enigmatic oil on linen work to Fuyuko Matsui’s disturbing paintings and Hiroshi Nonami’s suggestive photographs.

The section entitled “Jardin de Bête” that tackles the transformation of the human body into an animal’s through h.Naoto’s hoofed platform boots and clothes decorated with feathers, and Nagi Noda's animalistic headdresses made with human hair, and the “In Between” section that explores the importance of dolls in Japanese traditions are particularly interesting.

This final part of the book compares traditional dolls with new ones made by contemporary artists, such as Ryo Yoshida, Mari Shimizu and the late Katan Amano. Inspired by German painter, sculptor and photographer Hans Bellmer, these artists have created unsettling dolls that, though inanimate, seem to have a strong erotic and destructive power.

The most passionate and avid readers leafing through the pages of Japanese Goth will undoubtedly wish that Godoy and Vartanian had written longer pieces to accompany the over 200 photographs and illustrations contained in the book. Yet the themes the authors tackle have a highly visual quality and this is why images were given more space in the book and why Japanese Goth should be considered not just as a photographic essay but a rich brew of the lifestyles and creative forces associated with Japan’s Gothic Lolita and Gothic Punk subcultures.