Our Thursday series features must-read books from each branch of the art bookshop NADiff. This week's recommendation is "Familia Homi Danchi." It's introduced by NADiff Aichi, our Aichi/Nagoya branch (Aichi Arts Center B2F, 1-13-2 Higashisakura, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture). ■ "Familia Homi Danchi" Homi Danchi, located in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, is a huge, developed immigrant housing complex. Since the Immigration Control Act was revised in 1990, many Brazilians who came to Japan in search of work have moved in. Today, approximately half of the roughly 9,000 residents are foreign nationals (mainly Japanese-Brazilians). This book is a documentary photo collection of 245 photographs and reportage chronicling life in Homi Danchi, documented by photographer Keisuke Nagoshi and non-fiction writer Masanori Fujino, who lived there for two years. Nagoshi Keisuke has previously visited Chicano gangs, squatters, and slums, living and eating with his subjects, allowing him to capture them from close range. This time, he is living in the Homi housing complex, capturing the everyday lives of the people who live there. In particular, spending three years with Brazilian teens reveals a glimpse into their adolescent sensibilities, their joys, sorrows, growth, and change. They discuss appearance and language, school and play, family, work, Japan and Brazil in real words. The book captures the preciousness of each passing day and the yearning for lost freedom. Set in a housing complex reminiscent of the Showa era, the somewhat alien lives of the residents are lived today and tomorrow in a corner of Aichi Prefecture, home to the thriving automobile industry, and teaches us that their lives are connected to our own.

This is the first photo book to be published by Vice Media Japan, which is also known for the digital media VICE, which has bases in over 37 countries around the world, and the free culture magazine VICE MAGAZINE.

[Book information]
"Familia Homi Danchi"
Publisher: VICE Media Japan / Distributor: Sekai Bunka Publishing
Language: Japanese
Softcover / 288 pages / 225 x 170 mm
Publication: December 2016
Price: 2,980 yen