The 1990s saw the rise of what at the time seemed an important generation of Japanese female photographers. This included Junko Takahashi, HIROMIX, Rika Noguchi, Mika Ninagawa and Tomoko Sawada. While much of this new wave — most notably the narcissistic soft-porn of HIROMIX and the cosplay outings of Tomoko Sawada — clearly had a limited shelf life, this photographic breakthrough for women also included some stronger talents, such as Mika Ninagawa, whose lush, sensual color photography soon found its way into glossy magazines and advertising, and Rika Noguchi, whose blurry minimalism didn't.
Perhaps the most interesting photographer of this generation, however, is the one that got away and made a name for herself overseas. In 1993, after some success and recognition in Japan, Yuki Onodera, then 31, decided that living abroad would be the best inspiration and accordingly set up shop in Paris.
"I'm interested in all the different cultures in Europe and I think that Paris is like a crossroads," she says in a telephone interview from her Parisian home. "Many people in Europe pass through Paris and we can come into contact with people from many different countries; so I chose Paris. First Europe and second Paris."