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GoKuDo - Vol 1
GoKuDo - Vol 1
The Extreme Path or the Wicked—Gokudō, as Yakuza are known in Japan—have long been shrouded in mystery and intrigue. These powerful and feared criminal organizations have deep roots in Japanese culture, a history dating back centuries, and a complex relationship with mainstream Japanese religion, society, and politics.
One of the striking aspects of the Yakuza is their elaborate tattoos representing their status, and power within the organization. Given the secretive nature of the Yakuza, this visual project provides a rare intimate glimpse into their hidden world during the sacred Shinto purification ritual Harae.
The minimalist monochrome images capture the raw beauty and violence of the tattoos on display and those who wear them. Note how the intentional absence of colour weaves the individual symbols into a visual narrative of shared loyalty, strength, and intertwined personal histories.
The tattoos captured here represent not only the individual's rank and perseverance on the journey along the Extreme Path but also the deep cultural and historical significance of the Yakuza in Japan.
This publication concludes a dangerous journey riddled with unimaginable obstacles to creativity. It started as a photographic art project to reveal a unique insight into the Gokudō world in the late 1990s. The artist obtained all the necessary formal permissions to photograph a Yakuza clan in Tokyo; however, the project was halted by the infighting clan members destroying all the negatives and prints and threatening the artist's life.
Two decades later, continents away, the artist chose the pseudonym Shirokage Kuromaku for safety reasons and completed the project using detailed original notes and sketches the Yakuza missed. Embracing Algography as a new art form leveraging the latest generative artificial intelligence technologies and advanced digital darkroom techniques, the artist recreated the destroyed images reviving a vision violently extinguished many years ago.
This collection of images is also a testament to the power of imagination and new technology joining forces to provide an exclusive look into the forbidden world of the Yakuza—against the impossible odds—to demonstrate how artistic vision can find its way to being shared with the world.
The real people illustrated in this volume, as far as it can officially be acknowledged, have never existed. It is best to consider this work a product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events as purely coincidental.
ARTIST: Shirokage Kuromaku
ARTIST: Shirokage Kuromaku
白 ・Shiro・ White, the color of the gods in Japan, represents purity, both spiritual and physical, and reverence for divinity, as well as the wisdom and knowledge of the gods in Shinto traditions.
影 ・Kage ・ Shadow, implies hidden emotion in Japan and describes someone with depth in their personality and experience. It is an aspect of traditional Wabi Sabi aesthetics where an imperfection is purposely introduced to a work of art to avoid offending the divine creator with human creative hubris.
黒 幕 ・Kuro Maku ・Black Curtain, a code name for a Yakuza fixer who works behind the scenes.
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