Takehiko Nakafuji: Down on the Street
“I’m not a photographer driven to record events or social issues. I simply wander through the city, guided by instinct, photographing from a deeply personal point of view.”
In Down on the Street, Japanese photographer Takehiko Nakafuji offers a raw, poetic journey through the world’s urban landscapes — from Tokyo and New York to Paris, Havana, Seoul, Berlin, Prague, and beyond. His black-and-white photographs are arranged without chronological or geographic order, creating a visual rhythm where images from different times and places echo one another.
Nakafuji’s gaze shifts restlessly between genres: from gritty cityscapes and intimate street portraits to reflections, posters, and fleeting gestures reminiscent of Daidō Moriyama’s energy and tonal contrasts. Through this intuitive sequencing, the book becomes less a document than a pulse — a world where time folds and cities share a common light.
“All I can do, and will continue to do, is to put myself out on the streets — to walk, to look, to respond to whatever appears before me. My hope is that the light of these moments, gathered over the years, will resonate together to form another, more evocative world.”
— from the afterword by Takehiko Nakafuji
About the Author
Takehiko Nakafuji (b. 1970, Tokyo) studied literature at Waseda University before graduating from the Department of Photography at Tokyo Visual Arts College. Since the 1990s, he has dedicated his work to the streets — producing powerful black-and-white series that explore urban life through instinct, movement, and light.
Nakafuji has photographed extensively in Japan and abroad, including Eastern Europe, Russia, Cuba, Paris, and New York, continuously expanding his visual dialogue with cities around the world. Alongside his street photography, he has also worked as the official photographer for several Japanese rock musicians such as Les Rallizes Dénudés, Yura Yura Teikoku, and Masatoshi Tsunematsu, capturing the same raw energy that runs through his urban work.
He directs Gallery Niepce in Yotsuya-Sanchome, Tokyo — a vibrant hub for independent photography where he curates exhibitions and leads workshops. His major photobooks include Enter the Mirror, Winterlicht, Night Crawler, Sakuan, Matapaan – Hokkaido, Paris, and Street Rambler.
Nakafuji is the recipient of the 29th Higashikawa Special Photographer Award and the 24th Tadahiko Hayashi Award, and his works are widely recognized for their visceral immediacy and timeless vision of the street.
