The Art of Nobuyoshi Araki

Araki, photo by Nan Goldin, Tokyo Love 1995

Nobuyoshi Araki (1940- )

Brief Biography
Nobuyoshi Arakis works demonstrate features of
post-modern Japan such as:
Richness of figurality
Evanescence and lyricism of life
Variety of shifting values

Main topics in Arakis works:

Self and Life

Sex (Eros)
Death (Thanatos)
Modern Tokyo scene

Arakis favorite ten photographers,

and major influences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Jacques-Henri Lartigue
Diane Arbus
Eugne Atget
Flix Nadar
Man Ray
Brassa
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Ihei Kimura
Kishin Shinoyama
Nobuyoshi Araki

The influence of Man Ray & Kishin Shinoyama

Kishin Shinoyama

Man Ray
Kishin Shinoyama

Man Ray

The influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson &

Eugne Atget

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Eugne Atget

The Sentimental Journey

Documentation of
honeymoon

The Intimate Photography

Photography as private diary

Yko Araki () is Arakis most beloved woman

and best model.

Turning point of Arakis

styles - death of wife in
1990. more
exaggerated and daring
The death of someone dear
to you makes turn towards
life. Araki

Reflecting on the
evanescence of life
Also, death (Thanatos) is
implied in love and sex.

Billowing vitality in the

face of death

Sexual content reveals

the passage from life
to death.

Something to hold on to
in this ever-changing world

Kinbaku (knots with ropes) are different from bondage. I

only tie up a woman's body because I know I cannot tie up
her heart. Only her physical parts can be tied up. Tying up
a woman becomes an embrace. - Araki

Opposition to conventional morality

Art is all about doing what

you shouldnt.
Nobuyoshi Arachy

A post-modern
view of time
Random timecodes
A photograph takes
place only at a certain
instant. And this instant is
unidentifiable. The instant
is the eternal and the
eternal is the instant. When
the camera shutter is
released, that's the eternal.
Eternity is achieved by
releasing the camera
shutter and letting it
descend. Araki

Another influence of
Bresson

Tokyo is Arakis city

Portraits of people from all
walks of life
Post-industrial age
cityscapes

Photographing a city
that is not my own is
bothersome. To be
honest, I don't have any
interest in any city
besides Tokyo. - Araki

Tokyos Contemporary Sexual Underworld I

Ensuring that the truth remains unseen!

Tokyos Contemporary Sexual Underworld II

Tokyo Love
A documentary project
with Nan Goldin in 1994

from Tokyo Love 1995

Photojournalism on the
subcultures of Tokyo
Portraits of adolescence
gender bending performers in
Tokyo
High visuality in costumes and
space decorations

from Tokyo Love 1995

Monsters (as altered Egos)

Reviving the tradition of
animism as seem in old
prints (for example,
Hokusai)
Monsters/Kaiju, such as
Godzilla, represents the
desires of humanity

Hokusai

Sexual drive behind

the monstrosity

Nobuyoshi Araki

Here, the artificial and the natural seem to occupy the

same world; real life (the cat, the vegetation) are
juxtaposed with representations of both real (actual
dinosaurs) and imaginary (Godzilla etc.) animals.

Japan beneath the Kimono

The influences of Edo Periods Ukiyo-e

prints and erotic art, ie. Shunga ()

Shunga

Influenced by
Shunga, but the
male is invisible

I'd like to take photos similar to

Shunga, but I haven't reached
that level yet. There is bashfulness
in Shunga. The genitals are visible,
but the rest is hidden by the
kimono. In other words, they don't
show everything. They are hiding a
secret. - Araki

The male is Araki

himself, taking
photos as an
imaginary
participant and
observer

A photographer of post-modern thoughts and

lyrical intent
Every photo is a
microcosm of evanescent
life
The artist himself is an
observer and participant
in the scene he has
captured.
In my photographs I often appear
in scenes containing bondage or
sexual activity. I play the role of a
midget in a Shunga painting. A
secondary role as a spectator. After
all, I prefer photographs to sex. Araki

References and Extended Readings

Nobuyoshi Araki: Self, Life,
Death. Phaidon Press, New
York 2005
Nan Goldin and Nobuyoshi
Araki: Tokyo Love. D.A.P. New
York 1995
Arakis official website
Araki interviewed by Jrme
Sans
Intimate photography: Tokyo,
nostalgia and sex Interviews
of Araki

Photo Credits
All Araki works are from Nobuyoshi Araki:
Self, Life, Death. Phaidon Press, New
York 2005.
Except the three noted are from Nan
Goldin and Nobuyoshi Araki: Tokyo Love.
D.A.P. New York 1995
The Rest are from