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Rating: 
Summary: That tricky distinction between pornography and art
Review: Araki is not for everybody. If you are turned off by nude, erotic images, then you should probably avoid it. If you are disgusted or horrified by candid documentary footage of the sex industry then again, you will want to avoid this book.I liked this book for several reasons. In the first place, the photographs--regardless of how you feel about the subject matter--are quite good. More importantly the collection of a whole accomplishes something important. It reveals the various sex clubs and love hotels of Tokyo in the 1980s within a normal social context. Pictures of salary men fondling a gogo dancer are mixed with normal shots of a crowded street or a restaurant. The message here is very clear. The sex industry is not only a product of society, but also it is a part of society. I have been interested in prostitution ever since reading Foucault's "History of Sexuality" and "Power/Knowledge". Foucault argues that prostitution is form of regulating society. If people must have their sexual urges then fine--let them go to some shameful secretive area and pay for it. But don't them experience sexuality on their own terms. Once can clearly see this in Araki's photographs. Salary men with still wearing their ties sit around a circular stage watching a topless dancer. Some draw lots to see who can go on stage to perform sexual acts with her. Why are these men doing this instead of going out, and having an affair with someone? The answer is simply that it is more productive for Japanese society to have these men work long hours and come to a highly regulated place for release. Araki's work is more of a documentary than anything else. It is not meant to stimulate anyone in a pornographic manner and it is not meant to glorify its subject matter. Araki places the Japanese sex industry in a realistic and somewhat humorous context. This is probably what makes so many readers uncomfortable.
Rating: 
Summary: Araki's Masterpiece
Review: Araki's personal portfolio of his horny journey... I must admit that there are many good b/w pictures in the book. But, the book itself seems to be a photo dairy of Araki's frolicking in his motherland's "underworld". Worth the purchase? Ahhh, only if you are nosy and like viewing pictures of naked japanese women from the 70's...
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Summary: Not so fun
Review: Good samples of Araki's work. The works in this book reveal away of realistic life, a pure exposition of human's desire from Japan.
Rating:
Summary: Good samples of Araki's work
Review: Good samples of Araki's work. The works in this book reveal away of realistic life, a pure exposition of human's desire from Japan.
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Summary: Pleasure and sin in Tokyo
Review: I'm a sexual educator and health and history teacher. I bought this book because have excellent pictures and is a documentary history of prostitution in China. I learned many interesting things about this matter.
Many of the pictures are very artistic and others are beautiful. I don't considered the book pornographic, instead is erotic and instructive.
I recomend this book to all people that study and work in the sexuality field.
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Summary: Araki's Masterpiece
Review: The man is a genius. Take the cover photo. He didn't just throw a [woman] in a shower and snap some photos--though that may be a salutory idea. Compare it to the companion photo in the sample photos. The light and therefore the shadows, have moved, the towel has moved, and in both pictures the contours of the light, the shadow, and the folds of the towel track and repeat lines created by the model's pose. There are three circles in the cover photo--the shower hose, the model's [figure], and her face, and the cascade of water seems to close the circle created by the shower hose. Throughout the book are amazing photos like this, with stunning elements of light and composition, although there is a reason why this one is on the cover. You occasionally see Araki in the photos, although never without his sunglasses (or in one case, a mask). If you have any interest in photography at all, you should buy this book.
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Summary: Great book!
Review: This book is a great collection of Nobuyoshi Araki's Photographs. With this book one can take a peek into Tokyo's night life, through quite provocative B/W photos. The only disadvantage of this book is the image proportions (14X@)cm. I would prefer it in A4 Format.
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Summary: Not so fun
Review: Tokyo Novelle is a much more enjoyable book than this one is. It is the difference between artful sluttiness and sleazy seediness. A lot is made of how the ladies photographed were amateurs, but this is confusing topless stripper-type amateurs that take up half of this book with the more hard core sex worker that make up the other half. It becomes depressing. All in all, this book came across as self-serving and smug.
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