Nobuyoshi Araki was born in Tokyo in 1940, the city where he still lives and to which his photographic work is deeply devoted. The son of an amateur photographer, he developed an early fascination with the medium. In 1963, he earned a master’s degree in photography and cinematography from Chiba University, where he cultivated an interest in Italian Neorealist and French Nouvelle Vague cinema. These influences shaped his distinctive visual language—both diaristic and erotic—capturing the pulse of postwar Japan amid rapid urbanization, consumer culture, and the emergence of new symbols such as toys, karaoke bars, and the imagery of contemporary life.

In 1964, Araki received the Taiyo Prize for young Japanese photographers, and the following year he held his first solo exhibition at the Shinjuku Station Building in Tokyo. In 1971, he married Yoko Aoki, a central figure in his life and artistic journey. From this point onward, his focus on the nude and the female body brought him widespread recognition. Since the 1980s, Araki has exhibited internationally, earning acclaim from both audiences and critics as one of the most provocative and influential voices in contemporary photography.