The non-fungible tokens boom seems to have petered out internationally. Prices of NFTs skyrocketed but then plummeted over the course of 2022, and many believe the market is over (not coincidentally, the crypto markets has also experienced a crunch in 2022). The art and photography industries may soon move onto the next fad, if they haven’t already.
In Japan, NFTs are still something of a thing, though, even if the haven’t reached the heights of fame and fortune that they (briefly) attained in other countries.
In 2021, shibari artist Hajime Kinoko created an NFT rope bondage art installation, while even soon-to-be-former porn star Yua Mikami got in on the act with an NFTs sale that same year.
And we were intrigued to learn this week that historical gravure NFTs exist.
The photographer Yasuo Kujirai, known for his 2000s gravure work, is trying to establish a market for NFTs of old gravure photos shot on film.
Since last month, he has offered classic shots of Emiri Nakayama, Chiriko Sakashita, and Maju Ozawa “remade” as NFTs, available on the NFTs platform Adam by GMO.
From photo books he shot with the models — mainly Principessa with Emiri Nakayama (released September 2003), Back Off!! with Chiriko Sakashita (released February 2003), and Pearl with Maju Ozawa (released May 2002) — he has selected shots to make (at time of writing) some 200 NFTs.
Sounds like a gimmick? That’s because it is, but perhaps Kujirai can trade on nostalgia among the models’ male fans, who are now middle-aged (like the models themselves) and may have some money lying around. And because he presumably owns the copyright on the photos, he probably hopes he can recycle some of his considerable back catalogue for a bit of profit.
You can browse the shots he has offered on the Adam by GMO website, which also include former race queens Toko Ushikawa and Kaoru Sumiya. None of the shots are especially explicit; by gravure standards, these are at the tamer end of the spectrum.
The NFTs are mostly available from ¥10,000, though some can be yours for just ¥2,000 or even ¥1,000.
At the time of writing, none of the NFTs seem to have received any bids.
