Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

New book Edges of the Rainbow, LGBTQ Japan, out in May
From a press release
2017-04-18

This article shared 1129 times since Tue Apr 18, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


"The exquisite humanity in this book transcends all geographical and cultural difference to show us what is universal in ourselves, and germane to place. A triumph of insight and heart."

— Hilton Als, 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winner and staff writer for The New Yorker

The LGBTQ community in Japan has faced its challenges. Even as some religious and warrior orders have a long and recognized tradition of same-sex love, to be considered different, to be "the nail that sticks out," makes coming out difficult. Despite the conservative strain within Japanese society that encourages the LGBTQ community to remain unseen, a welcome change is happening on the ground. A number of queer cultural figures are opening up new horizons, and a growing majority of Japanese people believe that homosexuality should be an integral and open part of society.

The latest in a series of beautiful, affordable photobooks that look at LGBTQ communities around the world, Edges of the Rainbow ( The New Press, May 2017 ) is a photographic celebration of the queer community in Japan. Through over 150 color and black-and-white photographs, and accompanying texts, acclaimed photographer Michel Delsol and journalist Haruku Shinozakihave brought together a fascinating group of individuals to create an unforgettable and uplifting look at a proud and resilient community on the margins of Japanese society.

In Edges of the Rainbow we are introduced to a gay Episcopal priest; a lesbian couple who talk about their life choices at universities and on radio and TV, a trans woman pop idol and civil rights activist, an intersex author, a gay all-male music group that addresses LGBTQ culture through their electro act, among other inspiring and motivated people who are all living their lives openly and truthfully.

Chiga is the owner and manager of Gold Finger, an all-woman bar in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. She wanted a place where lesbians could find friendship and love — where they could be themselves. Right: Chiga plays with two robotic dolls, displayed in the streets, on her way to her bar.

Yoshiki is a gay Episcopal priest. Every Sunday, he conducts a prayer and worship service for the LGBTQ community in a "church" in Ni-Chome, the LGBTQ district of Tokyo. Right: Yoshiki guides university students on a gender and sexuality historical landmark tour of Tokyo.

Ai Haruna is a pop idol and well respected civil rights activist. Haruna is a trans woman — also known in Japanese as a "newhalf." She is one of the hosts of the prime-time show about fighting prejudice, Barrier Free, on Japan's national public broadcating network, NHK. Right: she is surrounded by fans in Harajuku, a street popular with teenagers in Tokyo.

Mark McLelland, professor of gender and sexuality studies at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, contributes an enlightening introduction to the long and complex history of diverse sexual expression in Japan. He writes about the first "gay boom" in the postwar 1950s that was reflected in the male-themed novels of Mishima Yukio and a new style of homosexual identity, the "gay boy" and meeting place "the gay bar." In the 1990s, the mainstream media embraced a second "gay boom" in Japan resulting in numerous magazine articles, television documentaries, books, and movies, and the spread of LGBTQ organizations across the country.

McLelland concludes: "the great strength of [Edges of the Rainbow] is that it allows us into the lives of real LGBTQ people in Japan, if only briefly. It presents us with their own images and stories based on their own words and worldviews. Let's put aside what we think we already know about Japan and open ourselves to this diversity and the message of tolerance and hope that it delivers."

Tatsuki, who is intersex, was born in a hospital in Nara in central Japan, where the doctors designated him neither male nor female but "other." He is happily married to a woman named Eishin who is pictured ( center left ) kissing her husband while he prepares dinner in their kitchen.

Mandy is the owner of a cabaret club in Roppongi in central Tokyo. The club is famous for its all-male Broadway dance revues and drag shows. "Find yourself and do what you want to do. A man is a creature who always works and makes money ... so do what you enjoy."

The book has been well received in the Japanese LGBTQ community. Gon Matsunaka, the producer of Out in Japan writes that"Edges of the Rainbow shows us this simple fact: that gender diversity is an ordinary part of this world. The people so intimately and beautifully reflected here are living their lives as who they really are. Their pride makes us all proud."

Previous titles in this on-going series include: Delhi: Communities of Belonging by Sunil Gupta and Charan Singh; Five Bells: Being LGBT in Australia by award-winning Australian photographer Jenny Papalexandris, and Pride and Joy: Taking the Streets of New York City by celebrated practitioner Jurek Wajdowicz.

Edges of the Rainbow was designed by Emerson, Wajdowicz Studios ( EWS ). The photographs presented in this book were made possible by a commission from Jon Stryker: philanthropist, architect, and photography devotee. This book was made possible in part by a grant from the Arcus Foundation.

Michel Delsol was born in Paris and works in New York City. He has received the Judges Award from the Society of Publication Designers, as well as awards from Px3, Prix de la Photographie Paris, and the International Black & White Spider Awards. He is co-author, with Haruku Shinozaki, of Edges of the Rainbow ( The New Press ).

Born in Japan and raised in Tokyo, Haruku Shinozaki is a journalist who lives in New York. She is co-author, with Michel Delsol, of Edges of the Rainbow ( The New Press ).

About the Publisher:

The New Press publishes books that promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world. These books are made possible by the enthusiasm of our readers; the support of a committed group of donors, large and small; the collaboration of our many partners in the independent media and the not-for-profit sector; booksellers, who often hand-sell New Press books; librarians; and above all by our authors. Read more at thenewpress.com/about/about-new-press .

Book Specifications:

Available May 2017

Paperback

8 x 10, 192 pages

ISBN: 978-1-62097-289-2

Price: $21.95 US

Also available as an e-book.


This article shared 1129 times since Tue Apr 18, 2017
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir
2024-03-18
RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
2024-03-04
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...


Gay News

There she goes again: Author Alison Cochrun discusses writing journey
2024-02-27
By Carrie Maxwell When Alison Cochrun began writing her first queer romance novel in 2019, she had no idea it would change the course of her entire life. Cochrun, who spent 11 years as a high ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical
2024-02-19
Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

ART Champaign display looks at the Midwest Black lesbian experience
2024-02-03
In Illinois, archival photos are the centerpiece of a new display at the Krannert Art Museum focusing on the Black lesbian experience in the Midwest, IPM reported. The new solo exhibition by St. Louis-based artist Jen ...


Gay News

USA Boxing adds policy regarding trans competitors
2024-01-04
Boxing's highest national governing body, USA Boxing, added a transgender athlete policy to its rulebook that requires genital-reassignment surgery and strict hormone testing for adults before competition, NBC News noted. ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Women's college, banned books, military initiative, Oregon
2023-12-29
After backlash regarding a decision to update its anti-discrimination policy and open enrollment to some transgender applicants, a Catholic women's college in Indiana will return to its previous admission policy, per The National Catholic Reporter. In ...


Gay News

NATIONAL School items, Miami attack, Elliot Page, Fire Island
2023-12-22
In Virginia, new and returning members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Fairfax County School Board were inaugurated—with some school board members opting to use banned books on the topics of slavery and LGBTQ+ ...


Gay News

Chicago author's new guide leads lesbian fiction authors toward inspiration and publication
2023-12-07
From a press release: Award-winning and bestselling lesbian fiction author Elizabeth Andre—the pen name for a Chicago-based interracial lesbian couple—has published her latest book, titled Self-Publishing Lesbian Fiction, Write Your ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Tenn. law, banned books, rainbow complex, journalists quit
2023-12-01
Under pressure from a lawsuit over an anti-LGBTQ+ city ordinance, officials in Murfreesboro, Tennessee removed language that banned homosexuality in public, MSNBC noted. Passed in June, Murfreesboro's "public decency" ordinance ...


Gay News

BOOKS Lucas Hilderbrand reflects on gay history in 'The Bars Are Ours'
2023-11-29
In The Bars Are Ours (via Duke University Press), Lucas Hilderbrand, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California-Irvine, takes readers on a historical journey of gay bars, showing how the venues ...


Gay News

BOOKS Owen Keehnen takes readers to an 'oasis of pleasure' in 'Man's Country'
2023-11-27
In the book Man's Country: More Than a Bathhouse, Chicago historian Owen Keehnen takes a literary microscope to the venue that the late local icon Chuck Renslow opened in 1973. Over decades, until it was demolished ...


Gay News

Photographer Irene Young launches book with stellar concerts
2023-11-20
"Something About the Women" was appropriately the closing song for two sold-out, stellar concerts at Berkeley's Freight & Salvage November 19, in celebration of the new book of the same name by Irene Young, the legendary ...


Gay News

Rustin film puts a gay pioneer into the spotlight
2023-11-16
The story of activist Bayard Rustin is one that should be told in classrooms everywhere. Instead, because Rustin was an openly same-gender-loving man, his legacy has gone relatively unnoticed outside of LGBTQ+-focused history books. Netflix hopes ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.