“So how much money did you get paid to strip naked Ms. Sugimoto?” yelled a writer from one of the Japanese mags.
“None, I did it for free.” answers Ms. Sugimoto.
Stunned silence for about 1 and a half milliseconds.
“How did they suggest you get naked?” asks another journo.
Aya Sugimoto tries to explain that she is doing it for a good cause, but no-one’s really listening. Whatever she tries to say, she just gets cut off by an onslaught of snappers and writers literally surrounding her and not letting her go anywhere. Some of the PETA staff get exasperated as the gathered press harass her and ask about her being naked for the cameras. The PETA staff get even more exasperated, everyone is missing the point.
Aya Sugimoto is a Japanese entertainer, outspoken for her views that women should be strong and stand up for themselves in Japan. She famously divorced her husband because he didn’t have sex with her enough. Even now at 40 you have to wonder what he was thinking, she looks damn good. I was amongst the pack of photographers who were shooting her as part of the PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) group who were trying to highlight the plight of animals in fur farms. They had already had Pamela Anderson pose nude in America, Maggie Q in Hong Kong and now it was the turn of Aya Sugimoto to do it in Japan.
I don’t think PETA were quite ready for the Japanese journo’s though, they just missed the point. In all the Japanese press there was barely a mention of PETA or animal cruelty, there was loads about Aya Sugimoto being naked though. Sex sells, but sometimes it overshadows the product.
I didn’t really know much about Sugimoto san before the shoot, but I did an interview afterwards and she came across as being a smart woman who is very committed to everything she does. You can read more about it in an old edition of the Japan Times online Thank for showing us your morals…
3 Comments
..I remember the day you shot this. You were taking this photo and I was being chased by the drunk guy at the Gamo Station.
Good story behind the photo.
Paule
http://www.paulepictures.com
http://www.paulepictures.com/blog
Just count yourself lucky he didn’t catch you, if he did you’d be side by side under the rail tracks screaming at everyone who walks past….
I wish he had ran for PM, he just gets hammered and shouts, no souls traveling to Venus in UFOs with him.
I like your write up here and with regards to some of “the” media thingy somehow that’s a norm “mediocritize” yet it’s the media industry that keep life alive:) Have yourself a good day Will, life is good!