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THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG
BY TOMOAKI HATA ESSAYS BY ERIC C. SHINER AND SIMONE FUKAYUKI
PUBLISHED BY
This PDF of The Night Is Still Young is only a preview of the
entire book. To see the complete version, please contact Joel Caceres, Publicity Associate, at
The term “drag queen” was first used in Japan in the 1980s but wasn't understood throughout the country until the 1994 release of the film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. That said, it was a term familiar only to queer subcultures, certainly not mainstream culture. And once the term was adopted in Japan, the term was given a somewhat particular usage, distinguishing drag queens from transvestites and transgender people. While transvestites and transgender people are the target of scorn and are alienated from Japanese society, drag- queens were accepted regardless of gender or sexuality issues. This was the greatest distinction from Western drag and was a defining characteristic of drag in Japan. The acceptance of drag here resulted from the unusual historical context by which drag- queen style arrived and emerged here.
“Eighties culture” in Japan was a mélange of nearly everything:over-the-top fashion bordering on the avant-garde; futuristic flavors beyond 60s style; fine art imported from cities around the world; reconstructed kitsch in an avant-garde style; pop music, club music, contemporary dance, films, novels, photographs, and music videos. All were intertwined and influenced each other, catalyzing a rampant, monstrous growth of subculture. Behind the scenes—on the “wild side,” as once described by Lou Reed—figures such as Divine, Leigh Bowery, Lady Bunny, Susanne Bartsch, Nina Hagen, Grace Jones, Klaus Nomi, Sylvester, Marc Almond, Karen Finley, John Sex, and others graced the covers of underground magazines.
They had an eccentric sensationalism and an aggressiveness bordering on brutality, and it goes without saying that by the mid-90s, drag queens in Japan were truly fascinated by the essence—moreover, the spirit—of these underground legends, who became their icons. As a result, issues of “femininity as gender,” or “gayness as sexuality,” which should have been the
Simone Fukayuki
A Truth Masked by Truth
from the outset; but they weren’t. Furthermore, as an island nation, Japan does not have any
land borders with other nations. Therefore, the Japanese had fewer opportunities to interact with other ethnicities such as Europeans and Africans, or even people of other Asian nations. Different from a multi-race civilization that must protect folk traditions and tribal ancestry, instead people here focused on social relationships in small communities. In such a society, which might be described as a “mega village society,” certain rules and orders emerged in small villages and still persist to this day. The first is a conservatism that expects every member of society to accept certain situations regardless of individual opinion. The second is a “blind-eye” mentality, according to which members of society can accept even the unknown, as long as it does not break traditional rules and order. These two elements still prevail in contemporary Japanese society, but no ultra-fantastic imagination or eccentric creativity ever emerged from such conditions. The social and cultural circumstances of the acceptance of drag queens in conservative Japanese society—without struggle with traditional rules and order—were therefore an accident of history, an incredibly rare case in Japanese society.
That said, in a country such as Japan, with this history, the drag queen movement is less than 30 years old. Compared to the Jomon period (14,000 to 4,000 BCE), which lasted 10,000 years, it is a mere blink of the eye. But in this photo book, Tomoaki Hata dolefully documents the true stories of those drag queens. From this world of absurdity, a truth—a truth in chaos—arises, and from this truth, gradually and forcefully, comes a verity. I believe that these images, which vividly reflect the uncertainty within their subjects, show this small world to be full of pride—an unmitigated pride that shines eternally, as bright as a thousand jewels.
In closing, I would like to point out that most of the drag queens featured in this book have already left the scene for various reasons, and these photographs do not reflect the current situation. The atmosphere evoked in these photographs no longer exists.
focus of drag queens' performances, were hidden, while their eccentricity, bizarreness, and baroque qualities drew attention. Of course, this was intentional on the part of the drag queens, who bottled up their political messages and let the audience focus on their style and fashion. But there was a complication.
Drag queens were seen and accepted as subculture tricksters, and “indie” media and young fans of the underground showered them with rave reviews. Such high praise was what distanced these drag queens from the aforementioned questions of gender and sexuality, eviscerating the form of its intent. The performances were viewed as mere eccentricity.
More specifically, the concept of camp, which arrived in Japan at around the same time, was fused with an inherent Japanese sensibility of craftsmanship that amplified the simulacrum achieved through detail work. In other words, the ease and standard for detailed craftsmanship in wardrobe and make-up gave rise to the Japanese camp style. This was a stark contrast to the rough-and-ready aesthetic of camp in the West. Japanese drag queens embraced this Japanese camp, and established an entire structure based on makeup, hairstyles, camp fashion, stage-performance techniques, and even identity. These elements accelerated the creation of each persona; in other words, they inadvertently enhanced the popularity and acceptance of Japanese drag queens.
I should make mention of another particular characteristic of Japanese society that allowed drag queens entrée to the club and party scene of the time. Various masquerade cultures have existed throughout history, in various ages and places throughout the world. The core element of those cultures of disguise was the control by a form of subtle discrimination. Japanese masquerade culture has a long history, and so naturally incorporated this idea. Rituals and arts in masquerade cultures have different purposes and goals, but control by discrimination usually prevails in the realm of arts. In many cases throughout history, artistic revolutions were started by minorities, but as an implicit rule, the majority always looked down on minorities. As far as convention is concerned, drag queens—an embodiment of the unknown and strange—should have been detested in society
THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG
BY TOMOAKI HATA ESSAYS BY ERIC C. SHINER AND SIMONE FUKAYUKI
PUBLISHED BY
This PDF of The Night Is Still Young is only a preview of the
entire book. To see the complete version, please contact Joel Caceres, Publicity Associate, at
