Museums of Erotica, Kyoichi Tsuzuki

Kyoichi Tsuzuki's new book Museums of Erotica is 450-page photographic archive of sex museums – hallowed halls of pleasure that mark a fascinating and largely forgotten aspect of Japanese cultural heritage.

Japan’s museums of erotica began springing up in tourist towns across the country in the 1970s amid an unprecedented domestic travel boom. Seen through the eye of editor and photographer Tsuzuki, the eclectic kitsch of the exhibits at these adult amusement centers is as novel today as it was decades ago. At the same time, the spaces teem with the nostalgia of a bygone era, exuding an almost artistic ambience.

The collection also features text and photographs documenting what has become of some of these museums in the present day.

Kyoichi Tsuzuki is a former freelance editor for the influential men’s fashion and lifestyle magazines Popeye and Brutus, where he wrote on contemporary art, design, urban living, and related topics. From 1989 to 1992, he published Art Random (Kyoto Shoin), a 102-volume series covering 1980s trends in global contemporary art. He continues to write and edit works on contemporary art, architecture, photography, design, and more. In 1993, he released the photobook Tokyo Style (Kyoto Shoin), which depicts the living spaces of Tokyoites in a raw, unfiltered context; in 1997, he received the Kimura Ihei Award for his photobook Roadside Japan (Aspect, 1997), which marked the start of a still-ongoing project to document roadside subjects both in Japan and abroad.

Seigensha, 448pp, 10cm x 15cm, illustrated paperback, 2023