Japanese female school students reveal truth of JK business, enjo kosai

A new exhibition in Tokyo focuses on the controversial issue of underage enjo kosai, or compensated dating.

The “We Were Bought” exhibition runs from August 11th to August 21st, featuring the photography, text and diaries of junior high or high school students (JK, joshi kousei) who have engaged in enjo kosai, a euphemism for prostitution

The exhibition is organized by 24 students and Colabo, a support group for female high school students. The students and other girls are aged between 14 and 26, and live all over Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu.

There are around 100 exhibits on display, including photographs, diaries and pictures from the girls’ lives, such as the street corners where they used to stand or the wounds from where they would repeatedly self-harm.

Admission to the exhibition at Kagurazaka Session House costs ¥1,500.

We have recently seen a lot of overseas media attention on the so-called JK business, which is essentially enjo kosai under a new name. Compensated dating among junior and high school students became a big media topic in the 1990s but then slipped away into the pop culture slipstream. Of course it has continued and enjo kosai services for adults (i.e. women over 20) is widely advertised. It even has another euphemism: papakatsu (sugar daddy) culture. The versions that cater to men wanting to “date” students often operate under the guise of maid cafes or “osanpo” (walking) services.