Our Thursday series features must-read books from each branch of the art bookshop NADiff. This week's book is Nobuyoshi Araki's "Personal Photography." NADiff BAITEN, the museum shop inside the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum in Ebisu, Tokyo (2nd floor, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Ebisu Garden Place, 1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo), introduces the book.

■ "Personal Photography" by Nobuyoshi Araki

"Photography is a sentimental journey" (excerpt from the book)

Photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, known by his nickname "Araki," was born in Minowa, Tokyo, and influenced by his father, who loved photography, he enrolled in the Department of Photographic and Printing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiba University. After graduating, his photo book "Satchin," featuring photographs of children he met in a nearby apartment complex, won the inaugural Taiyo Award. This book is a re-edited version of "Ararchism" (1994), a collection of Araki's writings, interviews, and dialogues published in numerous magazines since the 1960s, with a focus on photography theory and including previously unpublished manuscripts. Beginning with "Thoughts on Receiving the First Taiyo Award," published in the June 1964 issue of Taiyo magazine, the book contains a generous collection of candid writings about Araki's daily life at the time, including a preface to his representative work, "Sentimental Journey," which he photographed during his honeymoon, records of his friendships with renowned photographers such as Kimura Ihei, Kuwabara Koshio, Fukase Masahisa, Tomatsu Shomei, Naito Masatoshi, Nakahira Takuma, Moriyama Daido, and Sawatari Saku, the town where he was born and raised, his family, and his beloved wife, Yoko.

As he described his own photographs as "personal novels," a camera was always present in his daily life, and the anecdotes he narrates alongside the photographs he took are full of puns that will make you burst out laughing, but there are also some scenes that are sad and tear-jerking. This book is a must-read for Araki fans and photography enthusiasts alike.

At 77 years old, Araki is still active. In July of this year, he will hold large-scale solo exhibitions at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, showcasing a wide range of works, from his early works to his latest additions. Before seeing either exhibition, why not first look back on Araki's own history in this book?
【Book Information】
"Personal Photography Theory"
Photography: Nobuyoshi Araki
Publisher: Getsuyosha
256 pages / 46-format paperback
Publication Date: May 25, 2017
Price: 1,500 yen

【Exhibition Information】
"Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Museum's Opening: Nobuyoshi Araki: Sentimental Journeys 1971-2017"
Venue: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum
Address: Ebisu Garden Place, 1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
Dates: July 25 - September 24, 2017
Hours: 10:00 - 20:00 (last admission 30 minutes before closing)
Admission: Adults 900 yen, Students 800 yen, Junior and Senior High School Students/Over 65 700 yen, free for elementary school students and younger, junior high school students living or studying in Tokyo, persons with disabilities and their caregivers
Closed: Mondays (open on September 18th but closed on the 19th)
"Nobuyoshi Araki: Old Man Copying Sutras A"
Venue: Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
Address: 3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Dates: July 8th - September 3rd, 2017
Hours: 11:00 - 19:00 (until 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; last admission 30 minutes before closing)
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen, high school and university students 800 yen, free for junior high school students and younger