Kenta Nakano - Photographer
Tokyo, Japan
I was born and raised in the suburbs of Kyoto, Japan. Around the age of 17, I started attending punk shows and even picked up an instrument, but I was never good at working in groups. So what could I do on my own, I wondered? When a friend of mine said to me, "some people play in bands, release records, and organize shows, but it would be nice to have someone to document them," I decided to take pictures. Then I decided to focus on live music shots, consuming a lot of film.
Japanese people are very serious and work a lot of hours. Although not for everyone, Japanese punk shows exist outside of our normal lives. I get a lot of cold stares when I walk around the city in punk fashion, and the venues are usually on the first floor of the basement. You switch from your work-filled mind to punk brain, take off your suit, and head to the show. I allowed myself to photograph only bands on the stage. I began to wonder what else I could do. Since around 2010, I've been obsessed with the photos of American and European punk on tumblr. I was greatly shocked by the fact that they kept posting photos of everyday scenes of rooms, schools, workplaces, etc. and hardcore punk shows as an extension of the same life. That's where my ideal lifestyle was. I abandoned the notion that punk photography should be monochrome and chose to use color film. I moved to Tokyo, where many people my age lived, and sought a world that mixed punk and life.
As more and more punks from overseas come to Japan, I think the environment around us is changing little by little. Having moved from the suburbs of Kyoto to Tokyo, I have come to understand the way of thinking of punks living in the suburbs.
For this issue, I chose photos of my search for a new lifestyle. In the past two years, Japan and the world, punk and life, have been divided. I've started living as a freelance photographer, and I'm embracing and enjoying my new challenges. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. See you soon. Thank you very much!
