Water world
I finally picked up a copy of Pink Box, Joan Sinclair’s photojournal of the Japanese sex industry. It is an exceptional achievement. It offers a glimpse into a side of the mizu shōbai (水商売, lit. water trade, the entertainment business) rarely seen by outsiders.
Sinclair shows us a world where all manner of fantasies are fulfilled: shaking train carriages with schoolgirls to grope, foot fetish bars, real doll clubs and yes, used panty sales. It is, in her words, full of ‘colour, kitsch, variety, and absurdity’. But first and foremost it is a staggering money spinner. Sex services in Japan are worth ¥2.37 trillion (Takashi Kadokura, 2001).
