Shigeichi Nagano (1925–2019) was a pioneering Japanese photographer whose candid and humanistic vision helped define postwar Japanese photography. Born in Ōita Prefecture, Nagano graduated from Keio University in 1947 and began his career at Iwanami Shoten publishing house, where he worked alongside influential figures such as Ken Domon. His early photo essays for Iwanami Shashin Bunko captured Japan’s rapid social and economic transformation during the 1950s and 1960s with a nuanced, observational style.
Nagano’s work often focused on the ordinary lives of urban dwellers, finding poetry in the everyday scenes of Tokyo’s streets and workplaces. His images convey both humor and melancholy, reflecting the tensions between tradition and modernity in a changing Japan. After leaving Iwanami in 1954 to work freelance, he produced numerous series and photo books, including Japan’s Modernization and Tokyo: A Vision of a City.
Beyond his photographic work, Nagano also directed documentaries and collaborated on visual projects that explored contemporary life and identity. His photographs are held in major institutions such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.
Through his quiet yet incisive lens, Shigeichi Nagano offered a compassionate chronicle of postwar Japan—revealing the humor, resilience, and humanity of its people amid extraordinary change.

1925  Born in Oita
1947  Hired by Yonosuke Natori as an editor for the newly-launched magazine Shukan Sun News. Observed top photographers including Ihee Kimura, Shihachi Fujimoto and Inamura
Takamasa on location.
1949  Became a photographer for the Iwanami Shashin Bunko series alongside Shomei Tomatsu. Travelled across Japan to take documentary images for over 60 volumes.
1954  Goes freelance and begins to establish his reputation as a documentary photographer.
1964  Involved in the filming of the Tokyo Olympics for Ichikawa Kon’s documentary film, Tokyo Olympiad.
1985  Returns to still photography and to his favourite subject, the city of Tokyo.
1986  Receives the Ina Nobuo Award for A Strange Perspective in Tokyo.
1993  Awarded the Medal with the Purple Ribbon by the Japanese Government.
1995  Receives the Annual Award of the Photographic Society of Japan.
2006  Receives the Distinguished Contributions Award from the Photographic Society of Japan.

1962  Tokyo Essay, Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo.
1996  A Strange Perspective in Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo.
2000  A Chronicle of Japan: Nagano Shigeichi, a Life in Photography, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo.
2003  The history of Japanese photography, Houston Museum of Fine Arts.
2005  Hysteric Fourteen, Place M Photo gallery, Tokyo.
2006  Berlin-Tokyo/Tokyo-Berlin, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and Neue National Galerie, Berlin.
2007  Eyes of an Island, Michael Hoppen Gallery, London.
2009  Japan: a self-portrait, 1945-1964, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo.

1978  Japan’s Dream Age. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama.
1989  Toi Shisen (A Strange Perspective in Tokyo). Tokyo: I.P.C.
1990  1960. Tokyo: Heibonsha.
1991  Nihon shashin no tankan: 1960 nendai no hyogen (Innovation in Japanese photography  in the 1960s). Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
1995  Jidai no kioku: 1945-1995 (Memories of an era: 1945-1995). Tokyo: Asahi Shimbunsha.
2000  Kono kuni no kioku: Nagano Shigeichi, shashin no shigoto. (A chronicle of Japan: Nagano Shigeichi, A life in photography). Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.
2001  Distant Gaze. Tokyo: Wides Shuppan.
2003  Japon 1945–1975. Un renouveau photographic. Paris: Marval.
2004  Japan: A Self-Portrait: Photographs 1945-1964. Paris: Flammarion.
2005  Hysteric Fourteen. Tokyo: Hysteric Glamour.
2009  Hong Kong Reminscence 1958. Tokyo: Sokyusha.