Visual Counterculture in Japan: Political Shifts and the Dynamics of Resistance

by Marco Bohr

Overview

This book presents innovative analysis of emergent visual trends in Japan from the late 1960s to the present day. Adopting a thematic approach, this interdisciplinary text deconstructs the role that visual practices played in shaping a variety of countercultural discourses related to politics, gender, identity, sexuality, censorship, ethics and disasters. The book makes the case that visual practices do not merely function as a way to record counterculture, but that such practices are in themselves contributing to dynamics of resistance.

By considering a wide range of artists, photographers, film makers and practitioners, the book focuses on the way that visual culture transgresses, subverts or in the very least questions assumed socio—cultural boundaries in Japan. In doing so, the book foregrounds the crucial role that images play in our society today. Images are no just depictions of political shifts as and when they do occur, but they form part of this very shift in their own right. The book also highlights the interconnectedness between various visual practices and how they fit into wider geopolitical considerations on a global scale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350203297
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/12/2025
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.35(w) x 9.45(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Marco Bohr is Associate Professor in Visual Communication at Nottingham Trent University. Previous to that he was the recipient of a JSPS Post—Doctoral Fellowship at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto as well as a Japan Foundation Fellowship. With Basia Sliwinska, Marco co—edited the volume The Evolution of the Image: Political Action and the Digital Self (2020).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Introduction
1. Looking at Visual Culture and Counterculture in Japan
2. Protest and Visual Culture: a Radical New Vision Emerging in the 1960s
4. On the Fringes of the Nation State: Visual Counterculture and Okinawa
5. Testing the Boundaries: Obscenity, Censorship and Visual Counterculture
6. Youth Cultures, Subcultures and the Rise of New Visual Practices in the 1990s
7. Performing, Deconstructing and Subverting Cuteness in Visual Culture
8. Questioning the Narrative: Visual Practices and the 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

A thoroughly researched account of post—war Japanese counterculture, put smartly into historical context.” —Jonathan Watkins, Independent Curator and Writer, UK

“An incisive and original exploration of post—1960s Japanese visual counterculture, that highlights the provocative, often subversive, work of female photographers and the ways they disrupted and challenged state and dominant narratives on significant issues in Japanese society.” —Philip Charrier, Associate Professor of History and Head of the History Department at the University of Regina, Canada

“This book unveils what Japan's dominant culture and media have persistently sought to fragment and forget. It's an outstanding study, showing how Japan's counterculture harnessed images to drive its own progression.” —Takenaka Yumi Kim, Professor of Art History and Visual Cultural Studies, Ritsumeikan University, Japan

“Overall, the book is very readable and approachable, even for readers unfamiliar with the field of Japanese visual art, frequently referencing figures like Alain Resnais and Chris Marker as points of comparison. Reading this book is a thrilling and enlightening journey.” —Japan Forum

“Visual Counterculture in Japan draws attention to the power of images across media: photography, film and art. An indispensable reference for any consideration of Japan's postwar visual culture.” —Mitsuyo Wada—Marciano, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University, Japan

From the Publisher