Tokyo Nostalgia

A photobook by Nobuyoshi Araki, published to commemorate the completion of the 8-volume "Nobuyoshi Araki Literary Works" collection.

This "photo-novel" features 2212 snapshots of Tokyo taken with a 6x4.5 medium format camera since the mid-1980s, arranged 16 per spread to create a "cinematic" flow.

Araki himself created this book as an homage to Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story." It presents a continuous stream of fragmented scenes—streets, alleys, people, signboards, the sky, trains, women, and various sights—interweaving vulgarity and lyricism.

What is striking here is the juxtaposition of scenes from around his home in Gotokuji, the sky from his balcony, suddenly inserted nudes, and fragments of street corners, all presented without explanation. The sense of daily life and desire, city and private life appearing as continuous entities, strongly reflects Araki's distinctive perspective, which popularized the term "I-photo."

While set in the city of Tokyo, this is not merely a collection of urban snapshots. Through a "shishosetsu" (I-novel) perspective and cinematic editing, layers of memory, time, desire, and loneliness emerge.

Araki stated he "wanted to make it look like a movie," and the continuous shooting style with the 6x4.5 camera directly led to the cinematic page composition. He also said that "photography is about time," and in this book, through a vast succession of images, he attempts to evoke the very time and memory of the city of Tokyo.

Another characteristic of this book is that, rather than presenting each image as a "decisive moment," it aims to bring Tokyo to life through the sheer flow of an immense number of photographs.

This book, connected to works like "Tokyo Story" and "Winter," symbolizes Nobuyoshi Araki's "My Tokyo."

[Title] Tokyo Nostalgia
[Publisher] Heibonsha
[Publication Date] March 1999
[Page Count] 288 pages
[Size] Approx. 13519523mm / 410g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] TOKYO NOSTALGIA
[Author/Editor] Nobuyoshi Araki / Author
[Printing] Toppan Printing / Print
[ISBN] 9784582277401
[Condition] Used [6] Good to Very Good (slight stain on top edge)
[Accessories] None
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Nobuyoshi Araki (Araki, Nobuyoshi) 1940-

Born in Minowa, Taito-ku, Tokyo. Photographer.
After graduating from Chiba University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Photography and Printing, and working at Dentsu, he became independent. He began producing photographs in the 1960s and gained attention with "Sentimental Journey," self-published in 1971.

He has published an enormous number of works on themes such as private life, the city, sexuality, daily life, and death. Through snapshots and "I-photography" set in the city of Tokyo, he carved out a unique position in the history of Japanese photography.

Representative works include "Sentimental Journey," "Tokyo Story," "To Winter," "Girl's World," "Winter of Lust," and "Tokyo Lucky Hole." He has published over 500 photobooks and has received high acclaim both domestically and internationally.

Major awards include the 26th Taiyo Award, the 50th Mainichi Art Award, and the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.

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