Aisho Nakajima: The Unapologetic Queer Artistry Redefining Tokyo's Scene
Photography Nathalie Scarlette
Artist Aisho Nakajima
Story by Diego Sousa Pitti
Lighting assistant Fuuji
Hair & Makeup Aisho Nakajima
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In the heart of Tokyo, a city where fashion, culture, and tradition intermingle in a captivating tapestry, there emerges a luminous figure who refuses to be confined by boundaries.
Aisho Nakajima, a 26-year-old artist, stands at the intersection of vibrant self-expression, embracing queerness, and redefining Tokyo's creative landscape.
I will take you on a journey into Aisho's world, where makeup, fashion, visual arts, and music converge to create a vision of artistry that is wholly and unapologetically his own.
Aisho Nakajima's voyage into the world of music began as a distant dream. As a child, he longed for the melodies that would define his identity, yet he dared not speak it aloud. It was only in November of 2019 that he mustered the courage to pursue this deep-seated passion, culminating in the release of his first single in March of 2020. The path he embarked upon was no less than a rollercoaster ride, with breathtaking highs and challenging lows.
Aisho candidly describes the learning curve of an industry he was just beginning to understand, from songwriting to mastering. "There is pressure because you never know what people are going to like or not," Aisho reflects. He encountered legal hurdles, navigating the intricacies of the industry even as his debut single graced the airwaves. It was a difficult journey, but one that was instrumental in Aisho's growth as an artist, not to mention that it showed his determination to make it, whether aided or alone: “2020 really forced me to start on my own and get to know the process. 2021 was the year where I did everything, except for beat-making and mastering, alone. 2022 was the year in which I dropped 3 songs and was the first time that I worked with a label.”
Nakajima leverages makeup, fashion, vivid visuals, and music to create a kaleidoscope of self-expression through his art. He unapologetically blends them all, offering a glimpse into his multidimensional identity. This fearless artist embraces both confidence and vulnerability, understanding that they're not mutually exclusive. This fusion of music and visuals is Aisho's means of conveying his message: "the visuals really matter to me in my process," he explains. They might be uncomfortable for those not at ease with queerness, but for Aisho, they are instrumental in expressing himself authentically.
“A lot of people don’t like it, but I think I’m proving to the general public that not everything has to be clean or a certain way, and you can be yourself no matter what. You can love beauty, art, and music the way you want to love and express it,” he confidently asserts.
Aisho's journey is inseparable from the evolving landscape of queer representation in Japan. He's acutely aware that, in a conservative society, coming out was never an easy feat. "Before," he explains, "coming out in Japan was really hard, even for people to understand what being gay and loving someone of the same sex was." He believes that in the past decade, change has been on the horizon.
Nonetheless, he explained how, even though Tokyo teems with queerness within the entertainment industry, for many in everyday Japan, queer individuals are rarely seen or known: "In your day-to-day Japan, it's common for people not to even know an out queer person." This obscurity, Aisho believes, contributes to the fear of coming out for many:
“I get the feeling that the general public believes queer people only exist in entertainment or behind a screen or stage.”
Visibility is further compromised for trans and nonbinary individuals, as he shares that the Japanese language is devoid of gender-neutral terms. He reflects upon this issue as part of a broader linguistic representation challenge for individuals who are currently only referred to according to their correct identity in English —if they speak the language, that is— and mentions that the only way to refer to them in Japanese would be directly by their name.
As he unravels the path he has trailed, Aisho recalls a period in his upbringing when he was homeschooled, isolated from the world, and with no knowledge of mainstream pop music other than the biggest, most commercial hits by artists such as Mariah Carey. His voyage to self-discovery, he shares, started when he delved into makeup and art, and allowed himself to fully, albeit progressively, dive inwards. He candidly acknowledges his self-love journey as an ongoing process, perhaps the most important one at the moment.
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He dreams of exploring different countries, seeking to understand the world and himself better, as he sees travel as a boundary breaker through which he wishes to broaden his perspective and foster self-discovery. “I would love to live in different countries and understand where and what I even like. Living in Tokyo is not easy… in Japan, in general. I would love to live in different places and use it to understand myself. A lot of Japanese people don’t travel, they don’t like to get out of their comfort zone and getting out of your comfort zone helps you know yourself and even your body.”
And what about love? Aisho, despite his self-assuredness, acknowledges the significance of relationships in one's self-love journey.
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"How can I love myself when I've never had someone else love me as me?" He ponders.
While he emphasizes that a relationship is not everything, he recognizes the potential for a self-discovery and self-love within these connections: “I’ve never had a boyfriend but would love to, I’ve been in a relationship without a title. This is a tough conversation, I’ve been single my entire life and I’m really happy, I don’t feel like I need a boyfriend but I would love to have someone to share all these experiences with and help me to get to know myself even better —a relationship is not everything but a lot can be learned from that interaction.” His open vulnerability strikes me, as I’m sure it will you, especially as I analyze how it must be difficult to balance this personal reality with the he’s-got-it-all-figured-out perception that comes from getting to know him through what he is very much confident in: performing.
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In what he describes as a mix of all his personalities in one EP, he has managed to intermingle electronic music, pop, k-pop-inspired beats, R&B, PC music, EDM, as well slow ballads where he can showcase his vocals, as he currently works with a mother producer on his first full EP.
As the world watches Aisho Nakajima carve his unique path, one thing becomes clear: he's not merely a musician, a queer icon in formation, or a fashion-forward visionary. He's a storyteller using every tool at his disposal to challenge norms and amplify the voices of those yearning to be seen and heard, in the process.
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His music resonates as a testament to the ever-evolving narrative of queerness and self-expression. Aisho Nakajima is rewriting the script back home, one note, one brushstroke, and one bold step at a time. It is exciting to think of what he will release into the world next.
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