[BŌSŌZOKU]. 女人禁制 [Nyonin Kinsei / Womens’ Prohibition]: ティーンズロード [Teens Road], 1992 Special Issue.

[BŌSŌZOKU]. 女人禁制 [Nyonin Kinsei / Womens’ Prohibition]: ティーンズロード [Teens Road], 1992 Special Issue.
Tokyo: [Million Shuppan / Taiyou Books], 1992

A4判 / imperial 8vo (297 x 210 mm). 178 pp. Full-page photographic illustrations on nearly every leaf, in color and black-and-white. In illustrated wraps, with the original photographically illustrated dustjacket; head of jacket spine panel bumped and with minor nicks, large crease to upper wrap and front dustjacket panel. Very good.

Dubbed Nyonin Kinsei, this specially produced issue takes its title from the traditional term for the imposed boundary prohibiting women from religious and cultural sites. As Teens Road was dedicated to the girls’ bōsōzoku clubs, this stunningly designed photomook is dedicated to the guys. Comprising only photographs of these clubs, their bikes, and meet-ups, the issue foregoes the typical editorials.

Unlike the other magazines of the period, Teens Road was dedicated to the fashion and lifestyle of bōsōzoku “runaway girls,” along with motorcycle & car tuning, custom autobody work, and the goings-on of various groups. It was the first of its kind to focus on these sukeban (’girl delinquent’) clans and, at its peak, had a readership five times the recorded number of members of such clubs.

Yankii, a general term for a group of aesthetically linked ‘delinquent’ subcultures, was originally born out of the influence of post-war American rock and counterculture. With the rise of bōsōzoku style — defined by tokkō-fuku jackets and their spectacular, outlandish custom modifications — out of the earlier kaminari-zoku gangs, this yankii world began to take on its own uniquely wild aesthetics. Though the bōsōzoku retained a specific look, it intersected with a number of other subcultures around the turn of the millennium, such as gyaru.

Stock #1100