Araki: Tokyo Lucky Hole

Originally published in Japan in 1990 by Ohta Shuppan, Tokyo Lucky Hole is one of Araki's most notorious and celebrated works. Shot in the early 1980s in Shinjuku's neon-lit backstreets, the photographs document the sex industry of the district with Araki's characteristic intimacy — portraits of hostesses and workers in clubs, peep shows, and love hotels rendered with warmth, humour, and unflinching directness. The book captures a Tokyo that has since been transformed beyond recognition, making it as much a historical document as a photographic statement. A landmark of Japanese photography, it has been reissued by Taschen in 1997, 2005, and 2015.