Each bookstore will act as a concierge, recommending "the book you should read now" to FASHION HEADLINE readers. Today, we'll be introducing a selection of books from Shelf (3-7-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), a Harajuku bookstore specializing in foreign books.

■ "Diary" by Boris Mikhailov

This art book is a tribute to the Blaue Horse, a youth musical group active in the late 1950s, by Boris Mikhailov, a photographer from Ukraine who has been active since the days of the former Soviet Union.

Under the oppression of the socialist regime of the time, the Blaue Horse loved the Beatles, danced rock and roll, and dreamed of Western freedom. However, they were persecuted, and several of their members were imprisoned. In response to this, Boris took to photographing pornography, which was taboo at the time, as a way of making a statement. This eventually led to Boris losing his job, and five years later, he went independent as a photographer.

This book is a beautiful reproduction of the pornographic photo diaries of the time, which were made by roughly taping photo prints onto a backing.

[Book Information]
"Diary"
Author: Boris Mikhailov
Publisher: Walther Konig
Language: English
Hardcover / 430 pages / 280x200mm
Published: 2015
Price: 15,000 yen