shashasha

For the 50th issue of his long-running “Record” series, Daido Moriyama dares to break the mold: instead of the usual street photography (described by Moriyama himself as the “walk, watch, and shoot” approach) the fiftieth “Record” is dedicated to a single female subject, a rare genre in the Japanese master photographer’s oeuvre. Having met a woman called Yaco at the office of publisher Akio Nagasawa and being taken by her unique charm, Moriyama spent a day together with Yaco at the end of 2021 to photograph her in neighborhoods around Ginza and Yurakucho in Tokyo before heading inside to continue with a few nude shots.

“We spent a while chatting about this and that, and as the conversation went on, as if by accident, she displayed a unique kind of sensitivity, and that instantly helped me make up my mind. The next volume of Record was going to be all about Yaco-san!
…
After a short break, we did some nude shots on the floors under and above the gallery. Yaco-san undressed without hesitating, and began to strike some casual poses quite naturally before I could even start giving instructions. So all I had to do was to keep releasing the shutter …”
― from Daido Moriyama’s afterword (included in Japanese and in English translation)