Tokyo Fashion City by Philomena Keet

Author:Philomena Keet
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-4-8053-1339-8
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Akihabara may be ground zero for Japan's otaku, but Nakano Broadway has a wider selection of niche goods for the discerning collector otaku, whether it be old coins or commercial cartoon characters like Fujiya sweets' Milky.

The decidedly retro videogame arcade on the upper floors is a hangout for some of these young otaku men.

Shunpei, shopping in Nakano today, is decked out in clothes by Cassette Playa, a London brand whose wacky, bright designs have found a fan base in Tokyo. He buys them online, although they are stocked by Shibuya's Fake Tokyo.

TAKASHI MURAKAMI

Pop artist Takashi Murakami is one of Japan’s biggest exports, so it is surprising that his most prominent spaces readily accessible to the public are in the very unglamorous setting of Nakano Broadway. Murakami’s outposts in Broadway include a planning office of Kaikai Kiki, his art production company; the Hidari Zingaro gallery; Gallery Pixiv, which displays top-level manga and anime-influenced amateur art in collaboration with amateur art website Pixiv; a ceramics shop called “Oz Zingaro” (Murakami is a keen ceramics collector); and most recently, a café-cum-bar, Bar Zingaro. Opening a café had been a dream for Murakami since his art school days; he finally realized it in this hideaway Nakano spot. He asked Oslo-based café and bar Fuglen, which has a shop in Tokyo’s Yoyogi-Koen area, to oversee the drinks know-how and advise on the interior for Bar Zingaro. You can sip some top-notch coffee (the iced coffee comes in a little brown bottle) in stylish Scandinavian surroundings, which of course feature some Murakami artwork.

So why did Murakami choose Broadway? The reason is partly logistical—Nakano lies between his headquarters in Azabu, in central Tokyo, and his art factory in Miyoshi, west of Tokyo—but also cultural. Much of Murakami’s work draws on Japan’s otaku culture, from his colorful “superflat” kawaii (cute) smiley flowers and manga-like characters to his huge erotic anime-esque statues, so it is fitting that he should be represented in one of the city’s best-known otaku hangouts. Also, he is a master of collaboration, with a chameleon-like ability to work in fields as diverse as luxury fashion (notably his work with Louis Vuitton) and cosmetics (with Shu Uemura). This, along with with his keen business sense, makes him an unsurprising and surely successful addition to the unique, eclectic mall.

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