Mirror of the Night in Kabukicho: Lights and Shadows of Hosts, 1999-2008

Mirror of the Night in Kabukicho: Lights and Shadows of Hosts, 1999-2008

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Kabukicho once again regained its luster as the "capital of the night. Against a backdrop of stagnation after the bursting of the bubble economy, young people abandoned their day jobs and entered the world of hosts in search of freedom and money. They lived between alcohol, dreams, love, and money, and their relationships with their clients were a tightrope walk between love and dependence. The media portrayed them as "stars of the night," and their fashion and language influenced youth culture, but behind the scenes, debt, loneliness, and mental and physical exhaustion were prevalent. However, the hosts survived as a "culture" in the midst of these changes. For them, "selling dreams" was a play to survive, and at the same time, an act to confirm their ego. It was neither money nor love, but a mirror-like relationship of sharing loneliness. This was the image of modern Japan as reflected in the Kabukicho of that time.