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GRIND STREET GUIDE <br>『CULTURE SCOPE』 GRIND STREET GUIDE <br>『CULTURE SCOPE』

CULTURE, INTERVIEW 2024.7.29

GRIND STREET GUIDE
『CULTURE SCOPE』

Vol.1 Mode no Higeki

Interview with Tetsuro Kitada and Jana Dahmen

A place that brings something out of the city, seeking new encounters and inspiration. This series of articles explores the new encounters and inspiration to live creatively in these places. “Mode no Higeki” has a store on the former site of an unofficial brothel in the Tamanoi district of Sumida-ku, Tokyo. Since its opening in January 2023, the store has attracted a great deal of attention for its unconventional and rare designer vintage items and its historical background as a former red-light district. Unconventional and multi-faceted, the shop is expanding its community and the message that resides in its location. We spoke with the store's owners, Tetsuro Kitada and Jana Dahmen, to learn more.

Photo_Haruki Matsui
Edit&Text_Yuki Suzuka

Passing through the shopping district full of downtown sentiment, one can find “Mode no Higeki” further into the residential area, which is also called “ labyrinth”. The 3-chome area in Tokyo's Sumida Ward was once known for its unofficial brothel neighborhood known as Tamanoi. Although the entire area was burnt to the ground during the Tokyo Air Raid, it was rebuilt and remains to this day. The two first visited the property two years ago through an acquaintance. The walls had collapsed, the ground was bare, and it took one year and three months to renovate the building from a state of complete ruin.

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The architecture of the unofficial brothel is characterized by its gaudy colored tile decorations. It is said that women waited for customers at the entrance, leaning against pillars as if they were trying to make their presence known. They preserved the original decorations and interior as much as possible from that time period at “Mode no Higeki,” instead of a full renovation, so visitors can experience a historical Japanese building that has barely been left standing today.

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    After entering through the front entrance, if you look up the stairs , there's an open atrium. This design feature is attributed to the fact that during that time, rooms where women would entertain clients were typically located on the second floor. The staircase has been torn down, but if you continue through the room and go around to the other side, you will find a staircase that you can climb up as well.

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    During the renovation process they demolished a wall dividing the center of the closet, they discovered a bamboo framework inside. This is a traditional Japanese house construction method called “Tsuchi Kabe”, they purposefully chose to preserve this as part of the store's design.

From rare pieces like Gosha Rubchinskiy's first collection, to a well-known Japanese brand that was popular in Ura Hara in the 1990s “New World Order”, remakes of ancient jewelry, vintage designer pieces, their own brands “obsess” and “JUICE” and store brand “Mode no Higeki”, they deal with a rich range of items. Although the store just opened in January 2023, it is said that customers are constantly coming to the store to buy rare and unique items. They say that it isn’t their intention to collect rare or specifically valuable items. “As both of us are designers, we have a huge number of reference items that we use to make our clothes. The reason we started selling these items is not only to let people know about our brands, but for people to delve deeper into the background of making and thus coming to appreciate clothing more.”, they say. It is unusual for other stores to have designers standing in the store, however, it is precisely because of this that “Mode no Higeki” offers items selected from the designer's point of view, which are filled with fine details and particulars that only their creator can understand.

Jana Dahmen(left)
Born 1991 in Germany, she came to Japan in 2014 to learn how to make clothes while working as a sample maker for several leading Tokyo brands. In 2016, she worked as an assistant at TakahiroMiyashita.The Soloist. She launched her own brand JUICE in 2018 and has worked as a tailor for various artists and fashion campaigns.

Tetsuro Kitada(right)
Born in 1985, he launched his own brand obsess in 2007, and moved to the UK in 2011 to work as an assistant under Kei Kagami for two years. After returning to Japan, he has been engaged in sample production for tailors and brands, costume production for artists, etc.

Information

Mode no Higeki

3-12-5 Sumida, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

Regular Season: 14:00-19:00
(Summer: 15:00-20:00)

Closed: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
@modenohigeki

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