Former sex worker and photographer Beniko is on a mission to capture the spirit of Tokyo's historic red-light district, formerly known as Yoshiwara, a place she once called home. "These places are often referred to as having a "negative history", she says, "but the truth is that through the years people lived there, people made their lives there, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that."
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00I'm going to go to the Tokyo Skytree now!
00:06I was going to go to the Skytree from the station, but I didn't have a ticket because I had to go to Okinawa, so I had to get on the train.
00:12I had to transfer to the train to go to the Skytree.
00:16The Skytree is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Japan!
00:21It was a road from the station, so I made an omelette here and waited for the customers to arrive, and then I went to work.
00:51It's a place that is said to be a historical site, but there are people who have lived there, and there are people who live there.
01:05I want to convey that there are people who have come there desperately.
01:11I take pictures with the feeling that I want to engrave those feelings through the photos.
02:11I went there until 4 p.m. and changed my clothes in the locker room.
02:19I changed into a dress or a one-piece that I had bought.
02:25There are settings in the room, such as cleaning the sheets and preparing condoms.
02:38At that time, there were many customers who smoked, so I lined up the cigarettes I bought.
02:45I do cleaning and other cleaning to welcome customers.