Pink Box: Inside Japan's Sex Clubs

In Pink Box, photographer Joan Sinclair takes us on a journey inside the secret world of fuzoku (commercial - sex in Japan, a world where kawaii (cute) collides with consumerism and sex. Unrivaled in their creativity and the sheer number of choices, the clubs featured in this book-host and hostess clubs, nude theaters, touch pubs and pink salons, soaplands, peeping rooms, fashion health clubs, hotel health clubs, image clubs, happening bars, and couples' cafes-offer their clientele every fantasy imaginable. Subway groping, visits to the nurse's office, and comic-book character encounters are just the beginning of the immense list of scenarios that are acted out in colorful playrooms for adults where no detail is overlooked. An introduction by sociologist James Farrer provides a brief history of commercial sex in Japan and places the "pink". world in the context of contemporary Japanese culture. The book also features quotes from club workers and their customers, along with descriptions of the myriad services offered.

Joan Sinclair first heard about sex clubs with fantasy decor while working as an English teacher in Tokyo. She returned to the United States to begin a career as an attorney, but the thought of photographing these clubs never left her mind. In 2004 she packed her camera and moved back to Japan, where she spent a year becoming acquainted with the club managers and workers before she was given open access to the clubs: She now lives in San Francisco. James Farrer teaches sociology at Sophia University in Tokyo, where he conducts comparative research on ideas of sexuality and romance among young people. in Japan and China. He is the author of Opening Up: Youth Sex Culture and Market Reform in Shanghai.