A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 3, Yonehara Yasumasa, an editor, artist, curator, and DJ, was introduced by NENE of the idol group “Meme Tokyo” to appear on the show. Yonehara is an instigator of women’s underground culture since the 1990s, including serving as creative director of the legendary gyaru magazine “egg.” We asked him about what goes on behind the scenes of “egg,” why he moved to China in the late 2000s, and about the brand and gallery he recently launched.
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Everyone in Harajuku has known the editor since the 1990s
Takano (MC): Are you two friends?
Celeina (MC): Yes, we are! May I, may I call you friends?
Yonehara: Totally OK.
Celeina: Thank you very much. I would like to touch the backbone of Yonehara Yasumasa and Yone-san in a fresh way.
Takano: He is already a great person.
Celeina: Yes, in the 1990s, if you walked around Harajuku, everyone would know him, right?
Yonehara: It’s still true today (laughs).
Celeina: No doubt about it. From that time until now. Yone-san, you have many faces: editor, artist, curator, and DJ. What was the beginning of your career?
Yonehara: Basically, I was, and still am, an editor at the base. Other things are just one of the various fields of editing. Editing is a process of bringing together many different things within my field and presenting them to others, so I consider curation and DJing to all be editing. That’s why I say “I’m an editor” when I do other jobs.
Celeina: Is editing the main part of what you do when you take pictures?
Yonehara: Basically, I do everything myself, from choosing the people to deciding what kind of photos to take, so I consider myself an editor.
Takano: I want to include spirituality as well.
Yonehara: So, there is a part of me that would not take a picture unless I like it.
Takano: I was interested in the legendary gal magazine “egg. When did you start working as the creative director of this magazine?
Yonehara: In 1994, I was consulted and asked, “What kind of girls are you interested in?” and that was the beginning. I am not ZEEBRA, but I am friends with most of the bad guys in Shibuya and Roppongi (laughs). (Laughs.) The girls I hung out with on the streets at that time usually wore American-style casual clothes that were scaled down in size, but when it came to school uniforms, they wore loose socks and mini-skirts. At the time, high school girls in the media were usually dressed in knee-length skirts and pigtails. I thought this was strange, and I wanted to create a media outlet where the popular girls on the street could appear.
Celeina: Thank you, Yone! Yone-san’s initiative has brought us to where we are today.
Takano: Yone is the one who is creating the culture. It’s amazing, isn’t it?
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From Girls Culture to China and Art
Celeina: Since then, you have been active as the founder of “OUT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS” and producer of “smart girls,” but were you based in China from the late 2000s until 2017?
Yonehara: The reason why I created “Aufoto” was because it was a time when high school girls were taking pictures with “Sharundesu” and everyone started taking pictures. Basically, “egg” does not focus on photography, so I thought it would be a good idea to create a magazine that focuses on photography. Smart girls” had a section where the girls dressed sexy, but on the other hand, there was nothing sexy about the blue-character girls, so I wondered what it would be like to add sexiness to that section. I’m good at creating things that girls think “I could step into if only there was something like this.
When I went to China once, I thought that Japan could never compete with the enthusiasm of the people there. Then I got into it thinking that I could successfully introduce aspects like girls’ culture to China, and I’ve been going to China for a long time.
Takano: Why do you focus on girls’ culture?
Yonehara: Because men are no good (laughs). I basically love punks, or outsiders, and I like people who are not bound by social things. But when I date guys, even those who pretend to be subcultural have a vertical pecking order, or they are like the flip side of a company. With girls, there are a lot of people who are completely out of the norm and free-spirited. I find that interesting, and that’s why I do it.
Celeina: That ‘s interesting. And what you are putting the most effort into now is curation?
Yonehara: This is also a part of editing. Art, by its very nature, is a place where you can do a lot of things with free ideas. I think we need to find new art, but now there are so many people who say, “It’s going to be expensive,” so I think it’s better to do it ourselves. Not that there is anything wrong with getting more expensive, but before that happens, the biggest part of the current movement is to create a place where interesting people can present their work.
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Aiming to create a town where new things are born like in the past.
Takano: You also started a brand called “DA.YO.NE. (Plus Dayone)” in 2019, what is this about?
Yonehara: Basically, it’s a project, and it means that when I collaborate with various people, it’s a plus, and it also means “plus da yone”.
Takano: So it has “Yone” in it, Yone-san.
Yonehara: VERBAL gave me the name. We talked about how DA.YO.NE. would be good, and he said, “I will use it” (laughs).
Celeina: That’s good (laughs). And as I mentioned earlier, you opened “tHE GALLERY HARAJUKU” in July this year, right?
Yonehara: Yes, it opened. （You asked (Celeina) to visit us, didn’t you?
Celeina: Yes!
Takano: What kind of place is it?
Yonehara: It’s next to a flower shop in the middle of Tonchan-dori in Harajuku.
Takano: What kind of things will you exhibit?
Yonehara: I am also an agent for artists, and one of them is an artist named gata-san, who does all the IP for the brand “BENCH AT THE GREENE. After that, we continued with gata-san’s solo exhibitions.
Celeina: Starting with gata-san, what came next?
Yonehara: We had an exhibition by a digital artist named “Kasumi Ranchi,” and then we did another pop-up for the brand “Ben Davis. Since it is in Harajuku, we are trying to make the space available to a variety of people, rather than putting up expensive works. Like with “egg,” we wanted to create a hub so that many high school girls could participate.
Celeina: I see. tHE GALLERY HARAJUKU requires reservations or something? Is it open to everyone?
Yonehara: Of course. No reservation is required, and viewing is free. Harajuku used to be full of people hanging out in clothing stores and other places, and you could have fun without spending money. I wanted to create a place where people don’t have to spend money to have fun.
Takano: And it is also a place where people can meet each other.
Yonehara: Yes, that’s right. Right now, there are only consumers, or people who buy and sell things, and I don’t think that kind of town is interesting.
Celeina: I would like to strip away that part of the town, even if only a little.
Yonehara: There has to be something that comes out of it. It’s not that the countryside is bad, but I think the reason it is difficult to create culture in the countryside is because the buyers and sellers are divided. Because there are so many people in the countryside, there is a lot of miscellaneous things that could have been created, but I don’t think it’s a good situation to have something that is not being created anymore.
Celeina: Now, I would like to send you a song around this time. Yone-san has chosen a song that you would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time, right?
Yonehara: Yes, it’s called “Storm” by a band called OTYKEN. They are a Siberian mixed-music band, and they are very popular in Russia and Europe, but there is no information about them in Japan. Some of their songs have been played millions of times, but I think it’s strange that no one knows about them, so I make sure to check out their music. It’s a great song and I hope everyone will listen to it.
Celeina: Yone-san, we have heard a lot about you, but do you have any plans for the future?
Yonehara: From tomorrow, August 4 (Fri.) to September 5 (Tue.), a solo exhibition by an artist named SIMON, “LIEN POP,” will be held at DA.YO.NE. GALLERY on the 7th floor of Hankyu Men’s Tokyo in Yurakucho.
Takano: You are very busy. Is your main source of information on Instagram?
Yonehara: Instagram, follow me (laughs).
Celeina: Yone’s Instagram, everyone, check it out (laughs). Now, “FIST BUMP”, today we welcome Mr. Yasumasa Yonehara and Mr. Yone. Thank you very much.
Yonehara: You are early (laughs). Thank you very much.
neuronoa solo exhibition “FEEL’EM ALL
DA.YO.NE. GALLERY
2023.9.06~10.3
https://www.instagram.com/plus_dayone_gallery/
tHE GALLERY HARAJUKU
tHE GALLERY HARAJUKU
Period: September 6 (Wed) ~ 18 (Mon)
Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays *Open on Monday, September 18 (national holiday)
Hours: 11:00~19:00
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
