Osaka Nightlife

Osaka is the third most populated city in Japan, having over 8 million inhabitants and with an extremely active and diverse nightlife, with bars, restaurants and nightclubs that both locals and foreigners go to, making this sector one of the driving forces of Kansai’s economy. Most photographic and artistic works developed in Japan focus on putting the capital, Tokyo, under the spotlight, but this project goes under a different path. It’s not about denying Tokyo’s undisputable charm, but calling attention to the energetic nightlife of another Japanese city as a way of reaffirming the existence of many independent cultural tentacles in the same archipelago. Osaka Nightlife searches for the underworld of the underground party, within a complex and multifaceted nation, where easy explanations, stereotypes and generalizations are far from doing justice to the full inherent diversity of the people and groups that live in the cities. In a country of millenary habits, and with a reputation for clinging to hierarchy, conservative values and collective consciousness, this project aims to showcase an often unexplored aspect of Japanese culture by documenting young people in a society still strongly connected to tradition. The dualism of society is shown through their defiance of cultural norms and taboos such as tattoos, piercings, gender issues and sexual orientation. Moreover, even though the images were produced in Nipponese territory, they represent more than a microcosm of a society that is perhaps wrongfully seen as excessively homogenous. Instead, they show that individuality cannot be repressed and society will continue to adapt and progress even in a culture which has a strong emphasis of tradition and collectivity. Indeed, these images show people that dare to be themselves even in societies that threaten to exclude or segregate them.