“It brilliantly records and expresses the particular state of urban culture that came about at the beginning of the 1980s through the gathering of young people, and the impact which this radical phenomenon entailed beyond its influence on mere fashion and custom.” ― Daido Moriyama

The takenokozoku were a radical and influential youth movement in Harajuku in the late 1970s and '80s. Every weekend, young people would gather in the streets, wearing brightly colored clothes, blasting music from boomboxes, and dancing in a style influenced by contemporary disco and traditional folklore. Between 1979 and 1982, Noriko Shibuya documented the takenokozoku, which eventually drew crowds of up to 100,000 people to Harajuku. Printed on black pages, her vibrant, colorful photographs brilliantly capture the optimism, recklessness, imagination, fashion, and simple cool of the takenokozoku.

“Through the enthusiasm of the takenokozoku, the rock’n’rollers, and their audience, the whole area was filled with a kind of energy. From then on the number of groups decreased and there were fewer people involved, but performances continued on the streets of Harajuku until 1989. With this photobook I hope to convey something of Japan’s sparkling youth during the 1980s.” ― from Noriko Shibuya’s statement

first edition