The Mind Eroded by Numbers - Kabukicho, a City of Light and Solitude (2015-2020)

The Mind Eroded by Numbers - Kabukicho, a City of Light and Solitude (2015-2020)

From the late 2010s to the early 2020s, Kabukicho became the forefront of a society where customer service was visualized and evaluated. In stores, rankings of sales and number of nominations became the norm, with numbers directly substituting for personality and value. Magazine and web coverage reported on top cast members extending their brands on YouTube and Instagram while maintaining the number one position for long periods of time. Numbers became both a sign of pride and a curse, and the phrase "sick by the numbers" became a real-life experience.

Tectonic shifts in the system are also in the background. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Gang Exclusion Ordinance came into effect in 2011, and while blatant "face" pressure receded, the relationship between stores and customers became more private and fluid. Public documents and administrative pages make it clear that the ordinance imposes on Tokyo residents and businesses the responsibility and specific measures to eliminate gangs. The city's dangers have been transformed from the face of an organization to the outburst of individual feelings, and refusal and the presentation of boundaries have expanded the predisposition to sudden trouble.

Around the same time, the Entertainment Establishments Law was revised to establish a framework for the operation of specified entertainment establishments, and a system was introduced nationwide to permit late-night entertainment under certain conditions. With the extension of nighttime circulation hours to include dancing and shows, and the expansion of venues connected to tourism and the platform economy, the emotional labor of "constant connection" increased on the part of the cast members. Industry commentary and NPA materials show the expansion of this newly established category and operational practice, strengthening the soil in which nighttime productivity is compared side-by-side in numbers.

In a world where numbers become synonymous with love, money becomes an indicator of ups and downs in the temperature of the heart. Customers purchase special treatment for one night, and cast members prove their affection with numbers. However, the comparison with others brought about by SNS amplifies self-denial, and approval and insecurity proliferate at the same time. Domestic and international surveys repeatedly point to a link between increased SNS use and anxiety and depressive tendencies, confirming that the "sick culture" of the night scene is not an individual weakness but a structural side effect of an evaluative society.

Thus the neon lights grow brighter and the shadows of loneliness grow darker. Relationships woven with ranking tables and timelines provide momentary approval, yet make us repeat consumption in search of the next number. Kabukicho, while extraordinary, is a microcosm of modernity in which approval and isolation circulate. As the light intensifies, the blade called "number" quietly sinks into the heart, leaving a faint creak beneath the smile.