Down on the Street: A Conversation With Takehiko Nakafuji
(Interview translated from Japanese)
Takehiko Nakafuji has been a key figure in the world of Japanese photography for over three decades. His last exhibition, Down on The Street: Tokyo 1995-2025, used undated and untitled images that revealed new perspectives of Tokyo. Having worked with Takashi Mizutani in the early years of his career, Nakafuji's use of Les Rallizes Dénudés’ Darkness Returns 2 in the exhibition made perfect sense, immersing us in a simulation of Tokyo backstreets, industry, and nightlife. Amidst a busy schedule, Nakafuji found time for a coffee and talked to OUTSIDELEFT about his influences, significant works, and future plans.
The Exhibition
OUTSIDELEFT: Your exhibition was hugely enjoyable:
the photos, the layout, and the music. How was the response from the public?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Thank you. It’s been really good. I
thought hard about creating a meaningful installation, setting up walls to
evoke Tokyo’s backstreets and nightlife. It’s worked well. Instead of simply
displaying photos on white walls, I created a situation whereby visitors would
feel the sensation of walking around Tokyo neighbourhoods. There’s been a very
good response. Visitors appreciated the concept.
OL: What kind of people came?
Takehiko Nakafuji: A wide range, though most were older—likely
because of the daytime opening hours. Groups of photography students came, and
many visited multiple times. There were fewer ‘ordinary’ teenagers (and those
in their early 20s) than people from older generations. I would say that the
majority were photography enthusiasts. There are many in Tokyo!
OL: Why did you choose the title Down on
The Street for this and previous exhibitions?
Takehiko Nakafuji: It’s my personal tribute to Iggy Pop. He
had a major impact here. I’ve been a big punk fan since my teens, and saw him
play live around 1986 when he came to Japan. He played at Nihon Seinenkan. I
was in high school and it was the Blah Blah Blah era. It was incredibly moving.
It affected me so much. The intensity of his performance made me a lifelong
fan. I’ll see him this April: he’s doing two concerts – one at a punk festival,
and a solo one. I’m going to the latter. Seeing him in 1986 gave me the drive to follow my own path. Naming my exhibition after one of his songs is my way of
paying respect.
OL: Why set the timeframe as 1995-2025?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Well, I was taking photographs before, and
developed an instinctual love of it, taking snapshots and playing with images
from a young age, but after considering possible paths in life, I entered
photography school. Fortunately, I studied under Daido Moriyama. After
graduating, I held my first major solo exhibition in 1995, Nightcrawler: To the Fictional City. It was held at Konica Plaza in Shinjuku. It was significant—the
first time I completed a body of work I truly owned. Before that, it felt like
student exercises. The photo I used for the DM Invitation card was the oldest
piece in this exhibition. Music and Moriyama propelled me to get to that stage, and Moriyama remains an influence—even now, in his mid-80s, he's still incredibly active, constantly walking and shooting.
Rallizes
OL: Can we talk about Citta’ '93 and
Rallizes? Do you remember the photo shoot?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Sure. I remember that day clearly. Thinking
back though, the first time I saw a Rallizes concert was probably in 1988 - a
few years after seeing Iggy Pop. It was a huge shock. Their power was immense:
the attention to lighting and sound surprised me and the effect was
spellbinding. I hadn’t started taking photos seriously, but after that I began
to do so. I wanted to photograph the band immediately, but approaching them was
tough.
OL: How popular were they at the time?
Takehiko Nakafuji: In the 80s, they were completely
underground. Of course, they had passionate fans, but not large crowds. That
was Mizutani’s intention. They never wanted to appear in magazines or release
records through labels. It’s very well-known and documented. They only ever did
live performances (at that time).
OL:How many people would they pull in?
Takehiko Nakafuji: When I saw them for the first time, there
were around 100 people. This was at Meguro Rockmaykan, which was tiny, so they
couldn’t hold any more – but at Club Citta, there were about 500. By the ‘90s,
the crowds had grown a lot.
OL: How did you become their photographer?
Takehiko Nakafuji: A relationship of trust developed when I
showed Mizutani my Tokyo night photos at my first solo exhibition (Nightcrawler: To the Fictional City). I just approached him and said, 'I’m the photographer, please have a look.' I may have been chosen because I wasn’t using stage shots of musicians. If I’d shown him pictures of bands
like Friction, I doubt that he’d have been interested. But he really liked my
night street snaps. That was probably the reason he trusted me. Some of those
photos are in this collection. The first time I photographed them was at Kyoto
University’s Seibu Auditorium during a memorial live concert for Chabo from
Murahachibu. After that, I took photos at Club Citta and did photo sessions at
small galleries.
OL: Have your feelings changed about these
photos?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Not at all. I feel the same (about them) as
I did then. I took a long time in the darkroom, intensively working on them. I
didn’t want to just develop and print them plainly. I had specific ideas in
mind. I wanted to express a psychedelic feeling through the photos—with images
overlapping. A motion blur was created by using slow shutter speeds. I did all
that through darkroom techniques. You mentioned you have seen them before?
Well, some were used without permission. These things happen. But my feelings
about the photos and decisions about the imagery haven’t changed.
Photography
OL: Can we move to an influential
figure who is not from the world of music? You mentioned Moriyama san but could
you tell us about Kineo Kuwabara? His pre-war photos are eye-opening to young
people today (2019 Guardian article).
Takehiko Nakafuji: Of course. Kuwabara unveils Tokyo as-it-was
before it was destroyed in the war. How it was prior to the massive air raids
in 1945 that devastated the city. The period after that saw Tokyo rise from the
ashes, and his photos are invaluable. They reveal a Tokyo that was lost
forever. You know, I was born and raised here, so I was naturally interested in
parts that no longer existed—the phantom Tokyo. When we go to cities like New
York or Paris, we see old cityscapes everywhere. We can read history through their
buildings, but Tokyo has lost almost all of that. Kuwabara’s photos let you
experience that lost reality, and that’s their power.
OL: I really like the ones of mobos (modern
boys) and mogas (modern girls). Was that about 1936? (Link).
Takehiko Nakafuji: Yes, it was just before Japan turned toward
militarism and war. After that, the mobos and mogas disappeared. Anyone who
didn’t cooperate with the war effort was called an anti-national. But for a
brief time in the pre-war era, Japan experienced a cultural golden age. It was
a very special period. Kuwabara’s photos act as a portal to that time.
OL: Even though their clothing was
different, they seem like Japanese people today
Takehiko Nakafuji: That’s true. They still look modern, even
now. Kuwabara was one of the first to do real street snaps with a small
hand-held camera. He was incredible. You asked before about Daido Moriyama, but
Kineo is very different. Moriyama is all about imagery. He expresses his own
imagination and what’s in his head through his photos. Moriyama wasn’t
political, but in the late '60s, he took photos of student protests and
underground theatre groups, so obviously there’s a slightly political angle
there.
Kuwabara had none of that. He was a street snap photographer. I discovered him in my high school library and was amazed by seeing a Tokyo that I’d never known. It made me realize how fascinating photography could be. It was the same period I discovered Iggy Pop!
OL: How about foreign photographers such as
William Klein and Brassaï?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Well, I encountered Klein and Brassaï much
later—either when I was in photography school or university. I can’t remember
exactly, but there is so much to say about them. If pushed to choose one text,
I would choose Brassaï’s Paris de Nuit as a must-see photo book. It’s published
by Misuzu Shobo. It’s easy to get and not too expensive.
Covers and Others
OL: Other than Citta’ ’93, you’ve worked on
many other record covers, right?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Yes. I’m working now on a sleeve design for
Reimaki. Reimaki is basically a duo of guitarist Maki Miura and bassist Rei Yokoyama. You probably know that Maki Miura was the guitarist for Les Rallizes
Dénudés in their final days, but he also played in Keiji Haino’s Fushitsusha and was also in bands like Katsurei and Ōhkami no Jikan. He’s an amazing
guitarist who’s been part of many Japanese underground rock bands. So, when the
two of them—Miura and Yokoyama—formed Reimaki and asked me to design their record
jacket, I agreed. Miura has had connections to both Keiji Haino and Takashi
Mizutani. Haino is an incredibly strict musician - probably more like a
contemporary composer than a rock musician; Mizutani, and Les Rallizes Dénudés,
on the other hand, are definitely rock. Haino knows every school. He’s a stoic
and relentlessly pursues the essence of sound.
OL: And what about Shizuka?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Maki Miura also played guitar in Shizuka’s band. Sadly, Shizuka passed away some time ago. She is greatly missed. I was fortunate enough to help design parts of her covers. She wasn’t a particularly skilled player, but her presence was magnetic; her look unforgettable. I really wanted to photograph her for her record. Oh, yes. One of those performances was cut
short. Shut down by police after someone made a noise complaint. Just one song
and the police were called! It was at an ordinary gallery in Harajuku, not a live house. They blasted their sound at full volume,
and the police arrived. We were disappointed. It ended straight after. Mizutani
was usually cool and calm, but he was very annoyed. He was in a really bad mood.
OL: What about new bands today?
Takehiko Nakafuji: Well, recently, I saw Odotte Bakari no Kuni
live for the first time. They were really good. They were playing at a venue
which was more like a fashion-show space than a live hall; they were guest
performers and their sound was great. Of course, they are very different from
Rallizes but I think they’re one of the best Japanese bands around now. But,
honestly speaking, I don’t really follow modern punk bands. I mostly listen to
stuff from my generation. Have I mentioned The Stalin? I really liked them. Their
singer, Michiro Endo, sadly passed away a few years ago, but their last
drummer, Jun Urumi, still plays, paints, and has a new band. He performs covers
of Stalin songs along with original tracks. His band’s name comes from a tank,
and their work is quite interesting.
OL: From your record sleeve photo work what stands out for you?
Takehiko Nakafuji: My favourite is Les Rallizes Dénudés’
Citta’ ‘93. The photos were taken in the Harajuku gallery before
their performance started. The white wall made it feel like a studio. I asked
him (Mizutani) to pose a few times and took several shots. It was something I
could fully control. But (looks at photos) when I worked some artists like Yura
Yura Teikoku, it was more collaborative. There was a designer, a
manager, label people—everyone had input, and I was told, 'Take photos
like this!' Eventually, I got tired of that and stepped away from working
with Yura Yura Teikoku. I learned a lot from these experiences, and had
gratitude, but as far as personal artistic fulfilment goes - those projects
were small for me. There were many others, such as Takamatsu-kun. (Looking at a
photo) His character really comes through in this photo! I like it a lot. This
was the 1980s and he was really young. I was helping out Chiko Hige-san at that
time. I don’t think I took any great photos back then (laughs). I was carrying
drum sets for bands and setting up live houses. Around the time of
Blah Blah Blah or shortly after.
The Last Ones
OL: I was worried about some of my earlier
questions about Mizutani and Shizuka
Takehiko Nakafuji: It’s fine. Originally, that photo of
Mizutani was just on a white background. He told me, 'It looks too
plain—why not make it a collage?' So, I made one with a background photo
of ocean waves. We chose the background together. It was around 1995. I was
making a magazine called ETCETERA back then, and we used it there.
We didn’t have computers yet, so I cut and pasted everything by hand. About the
Shizuka record: I’m really glad her records have been re-released. And I think
the photos capture her beauty—she had a mystical beauty, a real aura. It’s
awful that she’s gone.
OL: Could you tell us about your future
plans?
Takehiko Nakafuji: I don’t make long-term plans, but in July,
I’ll have a photo exhibition at OM SYSTEM GALLERY (formerly Olympus Gallery) in
Shinjuku, featuring photos I took in San Francisco last year. The birthplace of
hippie culture and when I was there I felt the vibe. Haight-Ashbury had old
hippies and young hipsters alike. I took photos of them, as well as other
street snaps. I’m also thinking of doing a fashion photography exhibition with some pieces from this collection. I may work with Sugarhill for it. About books? William Klein did fashion
photo books, and I have something similar in mind.
OL: How about activities at your gallery?
Takehiko Nakafuj: It depends on the day. I don’t really have
a solid plan, but I’d like to use the space for more than just
exhibitions—maybe make a zine or magazine from the gallery. It takes a lot of
thought to put on a photo exhibition. It’s hard to say in simple terms, but a
photo exhibition isn’t for self-satisfaction. There is the element of
performance. You have to create a space where viewers can enjoy it as
entertainment. Just hanging photos in frames like a catalogue is boring.
Final Thoughts
OL: Can you summarise the importance of
music in your work?
Takehiko Nakafuji: What I learned from Les Rallizes Dénudés
and Iggy Pop is the power of overwhelming sound, lighting, and committed
performance. Of course, a photo exhibition isn’t a live gig but I want to
channel the kind of energy (that I experienced) into the gallery space. If you
just line up framed photos, it’s like a catalogue. That’s not enough.
Time was against us. We left the coffee shop still talking bootlegs, gigs, and more. Nakafuji was especially excited about seeing Iggy Pop in the weeks ahead. Driven by sound, streetlight, and instinct, he continues toward a future of his own making. OL thanks him for generously sharing his time and reflections .
Essential information
All Photos Copyright Takehiko Nakafuji, used with kind permission
