"These are more or less really dangerous cats - you never know for sure, of course. But later I read and heard that such men in certain situations are capable of very nasty things. Guns for hire to the highest bidder, political or commercial.
As far as their clothes are concerned: in Japan today, during this transition period from the old traditional life to the modern Western style, many people have lost their self-confidence, their own individuality. There's a tremendous lot of searching, experimenting, imitating. These boys have found what they want: the Chicago gangster style of the 1930s. They've seen all the movies, and they've got it down pat - hat, gloves, dark suits, the way of walking. A bit of terror in the streets. They were slightly taken aback when I made the picture, for not many Westerners roam around the Kamagasaki, but it was all over before they quite realised what had happened. For camera buffs: half a second, hand-held, diaphragm F2, with a Summicron wide-angle lens." From: Elsken, Ed van der., et al. Ed Van Der Elsken: Sweet Life. Errata Editions, 2012.