Published by Tokyo Kikakushitsu Liberty Bell, 1980
First Edition
US$ 518.90
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketFirst edition; (298 x 210 mm / 11¾ x 8¼ in); black-and-white photographs, design by Yoshimoto Akira; toning and spotting to edges, occasional spotting and offsetting, printing error to one page, light green endpapers, illustrated adhesive-bound wrappers, black, yellow, and red, handling marks, light wear to edges, publisher's ephemera laid in, a very good copy; [96]pp. Bosozoku is a Japanese youth subculture based around customised motorcycles. It started among returning World War II veterans, many of whom found the readjustment to civilian life difficult. In the 1960s and '70s, the numbers of these groups swelled with an influx of marginalised and disaffected youths, and stronger ties to various yakuza organisations were also established. This period was marked by fighting between groups, and riots involving large numbers of police were common. The date of these photographs is not recorded, but three groups who rose to prominence in the 1970s feature heavily: Nina Mona, Specter, and The Black Emperors, who were the subject of Mitsuo Yanagimachi's 1976 documentary Godspeed You! Black Emperor.