More images have emerged from Minami Minegishi's new photo book. There was some initial buzz about it last month over a preview "hand bra" picture that appeared. Now some other images have appeared and they show Minami Minegishi at her slinky best. Watashi wa Watashi (I am Me) is shot by famed nude photographer Meisa Fujishiro. It went on release on July 12 but so far hasn't been selling well. In fact, the major AKB48 photo book releases from Rino Sashihara and Haruna Kojima sold much better. Now that Haruna Kojima will graduate AKB, the last original member left is ...

The "hair nude" is a curious Japanese-English term. It refers not just to naked flesh; it's naked flesh specifically with genital hair. What is "shocking" here is the display of pubic hair, the line by which art and entertainment is usually fettered in Japan. It is fine to have plenty of nudity in films and print publications, but to avoid the century-old ambiguous obscenity laws, people censored or did not show actual pubic hair. The hair nude set out to deliberately show this bush taboo was something to be challenged, both legally and artistically. While the likes of Nobuyoshi Araki ...