The Japanese photographer and artist Nobuyoshi Araki is known for his provocative pictures. Influenced by Shunga, the erotic art of the Edo period (1603–1867), as well as the glossy imagery of contemporary culture, much of Araki’s work confronts taboo subjects such as sex, nudity and death head on. Subjects range from poetic scenes of old Tokyo to modern Japanese sub-culture, from sensual close-ups of exotic flowers to erotic photographs of kimono-clad women bound in rope. This compact book surveys and reflects Araki’s extraordinary breadth of work, from the shocking to the sublime.

The Photofile series brings together the best work of the world’s greatest photographers, in an affordable pocket format. Handsome and collectable, the books are produced to the highest standards. Each volume contains some sixty full-page reproductions printed in superb duotone, together with a critical introduction and a full bibliography. The series has been awarded the first annual prize for distinguished photographic books by the International Center of Photography, New York.