Cloaked in mystery and perhaps a certain degree of myth, the yakuza constitute one of the hardest subculture groups in Japan to infiltrate. But when Belgian photographer Anton Kusters and his brother, Malik, saw a gangster walk by as they were drinking at a bar in Tokyo¡¯s entertainment district of Kabukicho, they knew they wanted to know more.
¡°We were intrigued by his clothing style and polite manners,¡± Anton said, ¡°And it was then that we got the idea to do a photographic project following a yakuza family long term.¡±
That might sound like an ambitious and even romantic project, but what the Kusters brothers achieved is a more realistic photographic portrayal of the yakuza than many have seen before. And it took persistence and a high degree of tact.
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