What's this? Book review of Rie Miyazawa's photo book.

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Impressions: In 1991, Rie Miyazawa was a super-famous, super idol. (She's still super famous, but no longer in the limelight.) She had been in numerous TV commercials and programs since grade school. Without a doubt, she was making a lot of money. Thus, it was very surprising to hear that she put out a nude photo book. She did not need the publicity nor the income. It was a sensational move for this girl barely out of her teens. The sensation started with a full-page ad in the Yomiuri newspaper on the morning of Oct. 13, 1991. The ad, showing Rie in the nude, invited readers to reserve copies of the book which was to go on sale a month later.

News reports commented that she had a slender, well-proportioned body with high hips. There was a mad rush to buy the book and the book had to go though several printings in a short period to meet the demand. Rie definitely scored the biggest media coup of her life. (She soon scored another media coup by getting engaged to Takanohana, and then breaking up. Then there was her weight loss making her look skeletal.)

The book is large, measuring about 10.5 in. x 13 in. Each glossy page has only one photograph. Which means there is no photograph printed on the back of the page (except for a few). So when you open the book, there is a full-size photo on the right page, but the left page is blank. Each photo is full size, taking up the entire page. It really adds to the impact of the book. The photos are in both color and black and white. There is a great variety of poses, settings, and backgrounds. Moreover, the photographs are interesting. It is the kind of work you would expect from a photographer like Shinoyama Kishin who is a celebrity in his own right.

Shinoyama employs a lot of contrast between light and shadow, stunning and bold-color backgrounds such as flower gardens and beautiful rock, a lot of texture such as tree bark and leaves, and the local Santa Fe architecture. Rie is posed in many ways. Standing or sitting, leaning against a wall or tree, smiling or gentle-faced. Only one photo shows a little bit of pubic hair. In this photo, she's smiling and sitting Japanese style in a field of yellow flowers in the nude and you can see a small black triangle. This was one of the things which caught the eye of the press which later reported that the police did not consider it a problem. In effect, this served as a historic green light for publishers and photographers to publish pubic hair. The rest is history.

Perhaps the most stunning photos are the ones taken outside in the desert. She's standing on a huge rock totally nude under a dark-blue sky. Very bold, saturated colors. Others are somewhat tacky with Rie wearing a short-hair blond wig. But they add to the variety. Rie's father was Dutch, but she still looks 100-percent Japanese. This is a fine coffee table book for adults.

1400-6