Japanese superstar Shokotan in a hazmat suit. Terror chic?

More on Shokotan, from her Wikipedia entry:

Shoko Nakagawa born May 5, 1985 in Tokyo as Shiyoko Nakagawa is a Japanese idol and tarento (an actress, seiyÅ« (voice actor), illustrator, and singer)…. Her nickname is Shokotan. (In the blog by Mika Kaneda, who appeared with her on “ÅŒsama no Brunch”, she is called Shokotasu).

This is a beautiful image, but also quite chilling, especially if you remember the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack by Aum Shinrikyo cult members on March 20, 1995. This memory must be even more acute for people in Japan who encounter the source of this image, a Norton Symantec billboard advertisement at the west exit of Shinjuku subway station in Tokyo:

Norton Symantec billboard at the west exit of Shinjuku station. (Click to enlarge.)

And if the image is unsettling, the text hammers the point home:

"I am in danger. You are in danger. Japan is in danger. Protect yourself with yellow." (Click to enlarge.)

Unfortunately, as nasty as computer viruses can be, they’re nothing compared to a chemical or biological attack on people, so it seems kind of flippant to trade on the fear of human suffering to sell protection against technological trauma. But it does make for great advertising, and using a current pop idol helps sweeten the medicine a little.

Haruki Murakami wrote a great book about the Tokyo subway gas attack, Underground, comprised mostly of interviews he conducted with people connected to the attack in one way or another. [Shokotan source: Pink Tentacle]

Sadly, the two pilots were both killed; fortunately, nobody else was killed or injured. [Source: YouTube, via Gizmodo]

Nah, on second thought, better take the bus. C’mon Japan, WTF? Hentai as a form of city planning, or just trying to “cute up” old Godzilla’s image? For those of you who are (even more) confused, Wikipedia can bring you up to speed:

Hentai (変態 or へんたい) is a Japanese word that, in the West, is used when referring to sexually explicit or pornographic comics and animation, particularly Japanese anime, manga and computer games (see Japanese pornography). In Japan it can be used to mean “metamorphosis” or “abnormality”. The word “hentai” has a negative connotation to the Japanese and is commonly used to mean “sexually perverted”.

Yep, I think that about sums it up. No idea where in Japan this is from, or even if it still exists (or ever did, for that matter). Still, if you see it, run for cover, and report back to us. [Source: BuzzFeed]

UPDATE: Here are a couple more images of this oddity.

Images from Masahisa Fukase's The Solitude of Ravens

The Solitude of Ravens sadly foreshadows the photographer’s own deep solitude to come, as Wikipedia explains:

His greatest and last photobook was “Raven”. Shot in Hokkaido in 1976 in the wake of his divorce, the gloomy and emotional photos are a sharp contrast to his earlier works. The enormous renown won by their release in 1986 then the American release (“The Solitude of the Raven”) in 1991 was short lived as he fell down a flight of stairs while intoxicated and into a coma which he remains in today.

The Photo Book Guide review of The Solitude of Ravens tells Fukase’s haunting story in more detail, and includes some other brilliant photos, such as this gem:

A page from The Solitude of Ravens, by Masahisa Fukase

A song about a young man’s romance, Levan Polkka traces back to the early 18th Century, though the song was recorded and released in the late 90s. This more dazzling Internet manifestation of the song depicts a popular Japanese character in flash animation.

Turn up the volume and dance, ye mad fools, dance. Is your head spinning yet?