Daido Moriyama

Daido Moriyama: A Complete Career Journey in the United Kingdom

As one of Japan’s most influential contemporary photographers, Daido Moriyama (b. 1938) has redefined street photography with his raw, grainy, and emotionally charged depictions of urban life. While his artistic roots are deeply tied to post-WWII Japan, his decades-long engagement with the United Kingdom’s art scene—through exhibitions, collaborations, and critical acclaim—has solidified his status as a global icon. His journey in Britain is a story of cultural dialogue: how his distinct vision of Japanese urbanity resonated with British audiences, and how this exchange reshaped both his work and the UK’s understanding of street photography.

1. Background: From Tokyo’s Streets to Global Recognition (1938–1990s)

Moriyama’s path to the UK began with a lifelong obsession with capturing the “imperfect” beauty of city life—a style that would later captivate British curators and audiences:

• Born on October 10, 1938, in Osaka, Japan, Moriyama moved to Tokyo in the 1950s to pursue photography. He trained under Eikoh Hosoe, a pioneer of Japan’s post-war “Provoke” movement—a group that rejected polished, traditional photography in favor of grainy (are, bure, boke: rough, blurred, out-of-focus) images that reflected the chaos and alienation of post-war Japanese society.

• By the 1960s, Moriyama had established his signature style: shooting with small, portable cameras (often Ricoh GR models) on the streets of Tokyo, capturing fleeting moments of everyday life—lonely commuters, dilapidated storefronts, rain-soaked alleys. His work, published in iconic photobooks like Japan: A Self-Portrait (1971) and Farewell Photography (1972), gained a cult following in Japan and slowly began to attract international attention.

• The UK’s first exposure to Moriyama’s work came in the 1980s, when small independent galleries in London (such as The Photographers’ Gallery) started featuring his prints in group shows of international street photography. These early exhibitions introduced British audiences to a style of photography that was starkly different from the more formal, documentary-driven work popular in the UK at the time.

2. Early Engagement: Group Shows and Critical Acclaim (1990s–2010s)

In the 1990s and 2000s, Moriyama’s presence in the UK grew steadily, as curators recognized his work’s relevance to discussions about urban identity and photographic form:

• Group Exhibitions in London: In 1994, The Photographers’ Gallery—London’s leading institution for photography—included Moriyama’s work in Tokyo: A Portrait, a group show exploring contemporary Japanese urban photography. The exhibition drew praise from critics, with The Guardian noting that Moriyama’s “gritty, unflinching images” offered a “radical alternative to romanticized depictions of Tokyo.”

• Regional Gallery Showcases: Beyond London, Moriyama’s work was featured in group shows at regional institutions, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London (2001’s Japan: Tradition and Modernity) and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh (2007’s Streetwise: International Street Photography). These shows helped broaden his audience, introducing his work to photography enthusiasts outside the capital.

• Publication in UK Art Magazines: During this period, British art publications like Art Monthly and Photoworks published essays and interviews with Moriyama, contextualizing his work for UK readers. Critics highlighted parallels between his focus on urban decay and the work of British photographers like Chris Killip (who documented post-industrial northern England), creating a dialogue between Japanese and British street photography traditions.

3. A Pivotal Moment: The Tate Modern Retrospective (2019)

The defining event of Moriyama’s UK career came in 2019, when London’s Tate Modern—one of the world’s most prestigious art museums—hosted his first major solo exhibition in the UK: Daido Moriyama: Recording Tokyo. This exhibition was a landmark, cementing his status as a global photographic master:

• Exhibition Scope and Curatorial Vision: Curated by Simon Baker (then Tate Modern’s Senior Curator of Photography and International Art), the retrospective spanned six decades of Moriyama’s work, featuring over 200 prints, rare photobooks, and contact sheets. The show was organized thematically, focusing on his lifelong fascination with Tokyo’s streets, his experimentation with different formats (from 35mm film to digital photography), and his exploration of memory and time.

• Key Works on Display: Highlights included iconic series like Hiroshima (1968)—a haunting collection of images documenting the aftermath of the atomic bomb—and Tokyo Scramble (2008–2012), which captured the frenetic energy of modern Tokyo. The exhibition also featured never-before-seen prints from Moriyama’s personal archive, offering UK audiences a rare glimpse into his creative process.

• Public and Critical Response: The retrospective was a critical and popular success. It drew over 150,000 visitors during its three-month run (February–May 2019), with The Times describing it as “a revelation” and The Observer praising it for “making us see the street—and photography itself—in a new way.” For many British photographers and students, the exhibition was a transformative experience, inspiring them to experiment with more raw, intuitive approaches to street photography.

• Cultural Significance: As the first Japanese photographer to be honored with a solo retrospective at Tate Modern, Moriyama’s exhibition broke new ground. It signaled a shift in the UK’s art world, which had historically focused more on Western artists, and highlighted the growing recognition of Japanese photography as a major force in contemporary art.

4. Post-Retrospective Impact: Collaborations and Legacy-Building (2020–Present)

Since the 2019 Tate show, Moriyama’s influence in the UK has continued to grow, through collaborations, educational initiatives, and ongoing exhibitions:

• Collaborations with UK Publishers: In 2021, Moriyama partnered with London-based publisher Mack Books to release Daido Moriyama: How I Take Photographs—a bilingual (English/Japanese) book that shares his technical insights and philosophy. The book became a bestseller in the UK’s photography community, offering a practical guide to his approach for aspiring photographers.

• Virtual Exhibitions During the Pandemic: During COVID-19 lockdowns (2020–2021), Moriyama participated in virtual exhibitions hosted by UK institutions, such as The Photographers’ Gallery’s Daido Moriyama: Street Scenes—an online show that brought his work to audiences unable to visit galleries in person. The virtual format allowed his work to reach a wider, younger audience, many of whom discovered his photography for the first time.

• Influence on UK Photographers: Moriyama’s work has become a touchstone for a new generation of British street photographers, such as Tom Oldham and Olivia Arthur, who cite his emphasis on “capturing the moment without pretense” as a major influence. UK art schools, including the Royal College of Art and the University of the Arts London, now regularly teach Moriyama’s work in their photography programs, ensuring his legacy endures.

• Subsequent Solo Shows: In 2023, the Hepworth Wakefield (a leading contemporary art gallery in Yorkshire) hosted Daido Moriyama: Urban Fragments—a smaller solo show focusing on his recent digital work. The exhibition demonstrated that, even in his 80s, Moriyama continues to evolve as an artist, and that his work remains relevant to discussions about urban life in both Japan and the UK.

5. Legacy in the UK: Reshaping Street Photography and Cultural Exchange

Moriyama’s career in the UK has had a lasting impact on both the country’s art scene and its understanding of Japanese culture:

• Redefining Street Photography: Before Moriyama, UK street photography was often associated with a more formal, documentary style (exemplified by photographers like Martin Parr). His work introduced British audiences to a more subjective, emotional approach—one that prioritizes feeling over technical perfection. This has expanded the possibilities of street photography in the UK, encouraging artists to embrace imperfection and personal expression.

• Bridging Japanese and British Art: Moriyama’s exhibitions and collaborations have fostered deeper cultural exchange between Japan and the UK. By showcasing the complexity of post-war Japanese urban life, his work has challenged stereotypes of Japan as a “polished” or “homogeneous” society, offering UK audiences a more nuanced view of Japanese culture.

• Elevating Japanese Photography in the UK: Moriyama’s success has paved the way for other Japanese photographers to exhibit in the UK. In recent years, institutions like Tate Modern and The Photographers’ Gallery have featured shows by artists like Rinko Kawauchi and Takuma Nakahira—many of whom cite Moriyama as an inspiration. This has created a more diverse and inclusive photography landscape in the UK.

Key Dates in Moriyama’s UK Career

• 1994: Work featured in Tokyo: A Portrait at The Photographers’ Gallery, London.

• 2001: Included in Japan: Tradition and Modernity at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London.

• 2007: Part of Streetwise: International Street Photography at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.

• 2019: Solo retrospective Daido Moriyama: Recording Tokyo opens at Tate Modern, London (first Japanese photographer to have a solo show there).

• 2021: Publishes Daido Moriyama: How I Take Photographs with London-based Mack Books.

• 2023: Solo show Daido Moriyama: Urban Fragments at the Hepworth Wakefield, Yorkshire.

Quote on His Connection to the UK

In a 2019 interview with Tate Etc. (Tate Modern’s magazine), Moriyama reflected on his UK retrospective:

“London’s streets remind me of Tokyo—busy, chaotic, full of hidden stories. When I saw my work on Tate’s walls, I felt like I was sharing a piece of Tokyo with British audiences. Photography is a universal language; it doesn’t need words to connect people. That’s the magic of this exhibition: it’s not just about my work—it’s about two cities, two cultures, talking to each other.”