Staged Seduction

Selling Dreams in a Tokyo Host Club

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Staged Seduction by Akiko Takeyama, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Akiko Takeyama ISBN: 9780804798556
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: March 9, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Akiko Takeyama
ISBN: 9780804798556
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: March 9, 2016
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

In the host clubs of Tokyo's Kabuki-chō red-light district, ambitious young men seek their fortunes by selling love, romance, companionship, and sometimes sex to female consumers for exorbitant sums of money. Staged Seduction reveals a world where all intimacies and feigned feelings are fair game for the hosts who employ feathered bangs, polished nails, fine European suits, and the sensitivity of the finest salesmen to create a fantasy for wealthy women seeking an escape from the everyday.

Akiko Takeyama's investigation of this beguiling underground "love business" provides an intimate window into Japanese host clubs and the lives of hosts, clients, club owners, and managers. The club is a place where fantasies are pursued and the art of seduction isn't merely about romance; a complex set of transactions emerges. Like a casino of love, the host club is a site of desperation, aspiration, and hope, in which both hosts and clients are eager to roll the dice. Takeyama reveals the aspirational mode not only of the host club, but also of a Japanese society built on the commercialization of aspiration, seducing its citizens out of the present and into a future where hopes and dreams are imaginable—and billions of dollars can be made.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the host clubs of Tokyo's Kabuki-chō red-light district, ambitious young men seek their fortunes by selling love, romance, companionship, and sometimes sex to female consumers for exorbitant sums of money. Staged Seduction reveals a world where all intimacies and feigned feelings are fair game for the hosts who employ feathered bangs, polished nails, fine European suits, and the sensitivity of the finest salesmen to create a fantasy for wealthy women seeking an escape from the everyday.

Akiko Takeyama's investigation of this beguiling underground "love business" provides an intimate window into Japanese host clubs and the lives of hosts, clients, club owners, and managers. The club is a place where fantasies are pursued and the art of seduction isn't merely about romance; a complex set of transactions emerges. Like a casino of love, the host club is a site of desperation, aspiration, and hope, in which both hosts and clients are eager to roll the dice. Takeyama reveals the aspirational mode not only of the host club, but also of a Japanese society built on the commercialization of aspiration, seducing its citizens out of the present and into a future where hopes and dreams are imaginable—and billions of dollars can be made.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book The Jews of Pinsk, 1881 to 1941 by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Disquieting Gifts by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book The Schooled Society by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Connected by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book To Save the Children of Korea by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Holocaust Memory in the Digital Age by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book The Ethnic Project by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book The World Under Pressure by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book A Jewish Life on Three Continents by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Lianda by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Voice and Vote by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book The South African Gandhi by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book The Sincerity Edge by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Marxism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism by Akiko Takeyama
Cover of the book Mandarin Brazil by Akiko Takeyama
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy