GATA is proud to present an exclusive editorial from Tokyo—UENO GYARU. Exploring the fabled streets of the district of Ueno, the series of photographs transports you back to a forgotten time in the history of the metropolis of Tokyo. In an increasingly gentrified city, the streets, shops and the people who made the city what it is, are being swept away and forgotten in the pursuit of progress and renovation; however, it is the memories and legacy of those that came before us that cultivated the character of the cities we love. Tokyo is no exception to that rule.

Exploring the fusion of African-American and Japanese fashion through 90s and 00s “gyaru” culture, the editorial shines a light on a multicultural district that sometimes doesn’t get the attention it deserves, unlike more stylish and edgy locations such as Harajuku and Shibuya. Yet Ueno has its own charm, heritage and flavour that other parts of Tokyo can’t replicate. From bustling streets filled with food stalls spanning the world, to eccentric shops selling all manners of wares like sex toys and souvenirs; Ueno is an underrated gem that all visitors to Tokyo need to visit.

The year is 2022. A gyaru appears in the heart of Tokyo's shitamachi–Ameyoko. It seems like an odd choice...Ameyoko is not exactly Shibuya or Harajuku. The "typical" catchment area for youth culture. So the question remains. Why is this gyaru here?

The answer lies in Ueno’s zeitgeist, its spiritus mundi. There's something about this place, this town, that beats at its own rhythm. And like any "cool kid," gyarus—or at least this particular gyaru—is on a hunt for something that breathes authenticity.

Ueno is one of the few districts in Tokyo that has managed to resist the hungry claws of gentrification. Although it might lack the "pristine" urban design of other popular Tokyo neighborhoods, it reigns supreme in its loud, unapologetic embodiments of multiculturalism. The diversity in Ueno isn't the primed and proper one that the "prettier" districts of Tokyo claim to possess. Instead, it's raw…entropic.

At Ueno, kebab spots run by the Turkish community stand side by side with the many dozen Chinese street food shacks, fish markets, and South Asian spice shops. There are few places in Tokyo where you might hear Japanese (in countless dialects), Chinese, Turkish, English, Korean, and Hindi being shouted over one another. Old kissatens (old-fashioned coffee shops) share walls with sex toy shops, jewellers, and fishmongers. And only in Ueno could you take a stroll through a park and encounter an amateur juggler, a herd of bible-wielding evangelists, and breathtakingly camp crossdressers (some of whom identify as queer and/or trans and frequent the park to meet other queer folks), all in one day.

These bold and sometimes unfamiliar landscapes are becoming increasingly uncommon in Japan. More and more, we see Japan's skyline is littered with skyscrapers that sell dreams of a futuristic utopia–and nowhere is this more visible than Tokyo, where neighbourhoods are increasingly carved up by developers with new influxes of wealthy occupants. Overpriced coffee stands have replaced decades-old kissaten, and the sinewy backstreets of local shotengai have been bulldozed to make room for the go-to gentrification aesthetic: beige cobblestone promenades. Although gentrification is frequently touted as a glorious step forward, the reality isn't as pretty as we'd like to believe. More often than not, "development" in cities results in pieces of history, culture, and community being lost under the guise of "regeneration" and "revival."

UENO GYARU is a celebration of a district that fights against erasure. Through the eyes of the gyaru, we see Ueno as it is–vibrant, clashing, and kitsch. Our gyaru finds comfort, inspiration, and community in the complex social fabric of Ueno and its surrounding locale. Borrowing from the bold aesthetics of the gyaru scene—which oftentimes resembles groundbreaking trends in fashion from the African-American community in the 90s and noughties—these images tell a story of cultural fusion and unapologetic self-expression. Our gyaru embodies a bold, playful expression of femininity, fusing the aesthetics of Japanese and Black culture via her biracial body.

Welcome to UENO GYARA—a trip into Ueno's colour-crazed, spunky world.