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Troublemakers is a Tokyo-based independent magazine that tells stories of misfits.

In the first issue of Troublemakers, we met Remy Nitta, an Osaka-based American trans woman; Maya Sekine, a Japanese indigenous people Ainu culture advocat; Christian Cohle, an Irish singer-songwriter; and Mio Kojima and Maya Ober, co-directors of a Switzerland-based intersectional feminist platform Futuress. Also, we introduce German photographer Tamara Eckhardt’s photo documentary about an Irish minority group called Travellers and Japanese artist Taro Karibe’s essay on his depersonalization.

Table of Contents

We Are Who We Are
Remy Nitta, an American trans woman and massage therapist, lives in Osaka with her Japanese partner and their two-year-old child. What kind of life has Remy—who declares herself as a misfit and seems to accept the misfit herself and always be who she is—lived? In this long interview, we asked Remy about how she has embraced herself.

Roots to Fruits
Maya Sekine—who also has roots in Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido—travels to and from Hokkaido, as well as abroad, for her work as an ambassador for Ainu youth. We asked her about what it was like growing up in the village of Nibutani as an Ainu

The Children of Carrowbrowne
As Ireland’s largest minority group, Travellers are often ostracized from the rest of Irish society for their nomadic way of life. German photographer Tamara Eckhardt happened to meet eight Traveller families and took their children's photos. She talked about the days she spent with ”The Children of Carrowbrowne” and what is to come.

Last Goodbye
Irish singer-songwriter Christian Cohle has been steadily gaining attention in the European indie music scene since his debut in 2020. The cover of his second album ”Wetlands” was shot in rainy Shibuya. Why did he have to choose Tokyo? The story unpacks Christian's life and the process of making the heartbreak album that made him confront his vulnerability.

Utopia for Feminists
Futuress, a non-profit organization based in Basel, Switzerland, is ”where feminism, design, and politics meet,” creating a learning community with members from around the world. The co-directors, Mio Kojima and Maya Ober talked about the power of dreaming and how they are creating a space where change can feel possible.

My Overview Effect
Tokyo-based artist/photographer Taro Karibe has lived with a sense of depersonalization—the inability to feel reality in his own existence and in the people and environment around him—since childhood. He wrote about how he overviews the world with that sense and his process of exploring the boundaries between human and non-human, reality and fiction, through his artwork.

Credit & Information

EDITOR
Yuto Miyamoto 宮本裕人

ART DIRECTOR
Manami Inoue 井上麻那巳

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Julia Mio Inuma 井沼ジュリア美緒
Nikki Tsukamoto Kininmonth キニマンス塚本ニキ

ENGLISH PROOFREADING
Susie Krieble スージー・クリーブル

PRINTED BY
SHINANO Co., Ltd. 株式会社シナノ

PUBLISHED BY
Troublemakers Publishing トラブルメーカーズ・パブリッシング

Contributors

Julia Mio Inuma 井沼ジュリア美緒
Nikki Tsukamoto Kininmonth キニマンス塚本ニキ
Susie Krieble スージー・クリーブル
Takanobu Watanabe 渡辺隆信
Hinano Kimoto 木本日菜乃
Erica Coburn エリカ・コバーン
Alena Halmes アレーナ・ハルメス