Purple Magazine
— Purple #43 S/S 2025
The Tokyo Diary Issue

why japan?

A conservative and highly repressive country where, paradoxically, fantasies know no bounds and the imaginary world is free. Subcultures there are genuine cultures. All forms of art are considered equal; artists and artisans are valued equally. What matters is skill, mastery of one’s subject, and the beauty of execution. It’s a country where people become passionate about the rare and the hard to find. A place where language isn’t written but drawn. Street culture is revered there, unlike in the West, where artistic institutions often dismiss it. Young people have an encyclopaedic knowledge of music from the most remote parts of Jamaica and Africa — spanning rocksteady, ska, and early hip-hop in the Bronx. In Tokyo, one of the largest cities in the world, you’ll find passionate experts in every corner. The best pizza, made by a Japanese chef who trained for years in Naples. Exquisite French, Italian, Spanish, and German cuisine. Micro-boutiques dedicated to hundreds of street styles: Ganguro, Lolita, Goth, vintage Comme des Garçons, or custom tailoring. A shop selling only audio cassettes, as seen in the Wim Wenders film Perfect Days. You name it, they have it! And, of course, a myriad of intimate bars run by passionate owners. A café dedicated to “Mr. Happy,” a forgotten figurine from the 1950s. A tiny bar with three chairs, seating just three guests, where I love sipping umeshu with a large, hand-sculpted ice cube.

— andré

[Table of contents]

Purple #43 S/S 2025 The Tokyo Diary Issue

Table of contents

© Purple Institute

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