Nobuyoshi Araki

One of Japan’s most prolific and influential photographers, Nobuyoshi Araki is known for his provocative and emotionally charged imagery that often explores themes of love, death and eroticism. Born in 1940 in Tokyo, Araki has been a pivotal figure in the world of contemporary photography, pushing boundaries with his unapologetically raw and intimate depictions of life in Japan.

Nobuyoshi Araki studied film and photography at Chiba University between 1959 and 1963. Following his graduation, he worked at the advertising agency Dentsu, where he met his wife, the essayist Yoko Aoki, in 1958.

Araki began creating in the 1960s. Through his lens, Araki delves into the complexities of human relationships, capturing both their tenderness and their darker, more turbulent sides. He has captured a range of subjects, from flowers, woods and urban landscapes to nude figures, traditional Japanese rope bondage and scenes of Tokyo sex clubs, all of which challenge conventional notions of beauty and propriety.

In 1971 Araki self-published his now famous photo book Sentimental Journey, a photographic diary of his honeymoon with his wife, Yoko. He continued the series with Sentimental Journey ‘1972–1992’, which depicts their intimate moments but also chronicles Yoko’s battle with cancer, culminating in a poignant reflection on love and loss. This work set the tone for much of Araki’s later photography, where themes of mortality and the transient nature of existence became increasingly prominent.

Araki has collaborated and fostered creative dialogues with other photographers worldwide, including German photographer Juergen Teller, with whom Araki has collaborated on Araki Teller, Teller Araki (2014) and Leben und Tod (Life and Death) (2020), and Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama on Moriyama Shinjuku Araki (2005), documenting the gritty, pulsating life of Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.