Asakusa

Asakusa by Dutch photographer Ronin de Goede is a photographic diary of the days he spent photographing the work of Japanese master tattoo artist Horikazu and the clients who hire him. As Japan has historically been and continues to be a country where tattoos remain closely associated with the criminal underworld, following Horikazu’s work – his specialty being the full-body tattoo – slowly allowed de Goede entry to the world of the yakuza… Asakusa is a book publication as well as a series of exhibitions, from Tokyo to Antwerp, The Hague to Paris.

Ronin and I frequent the same watering hole in The Hague and so an introduction to his work was inevitable. I was struck by the raw power of his photo’s on that first meeting and was surprised to learn that he had no gallery representation. Captivated by his style, process and subjects, I pledged to help him then and there. This resulted in a fruitful collaboration as well as a friendship. I helped Ronin negotiate a book deal with ZEN Gallery, arranged partners for exhibitions and presentations and I continue to help him set up a long-term strategy beyond the scope of this project.