‘In preparation for the 2020 Olympics, Japan is becoming increasingly sterile,’ comments Kazuyoshi Usui, ‘and emphasis is placed on presenting Tokyo as a super-clean, super-safe city.’ Usui’s Japan as portrayed in his series Showa88 is full of conflicts and contradictions. Although the Shōwa period ended in its 64th year (1989) with the death of the previous emperor, Usui’s fictional narrative takes place in the 88th year of Shōwa. Shuffling the past, present and future, he blurs the line between real and fake, familiar and uncanny, East and West, good and bad.

White Roses, the present work, was taken in Tobita Shinchi, Osaka’s red-light district, inside one of many brothels whose rickety wooden exterior has not changed since post-war times. From the white roses and vase to the bamboo and bright pink interior, Usui captures ‘conflicting beauty’ in this one photograph, which he selected as the cover image of his photobook Showa88 (2011). Usui’s work has been exhibited internationally and is held in various collections, including Tokyo Polytechnic University and Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi.