Shin Noguchi « Chose Commune

Shin Noguchi

Shin Noguchi, born in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1976, he is a street photographer based in Kamakura and Tokyo since 2002.

– Home and studio — together or apart?

Together. I live in a traditional Japanese house, a style that has become increasingly rare in contemporary Japan

– Do you have any daily rituals?

When I wake up in the morning, I light incense and greet the photographs of my departed pets and family. I choose a vinyl record and place it on the turntable, grind coffee beans, and brew coffee by hand. While listening to music, I take my coffee outside and feed the mountain doves that come into the garden.

– What is the first art book you remember?

*Rolling Stone: The Photographs*, Simon & Schuster, 1989

– What is your studio/creative soundtrack?

I listen to original first-press vinyl records of 1950s and 1960s hard bop jazz.

– What is the favorite thing you have in your studio?

The first-edition photobooks and original first-press vinyl records displayed on a shelf I built myself in the *tokonoma*, the most formal space in a traditional Japanese house. I have named this space *Chinza Records and Books*, and I occasionally welcome my print collectors there.

– Did you always want to be an artist?

I do not consider myself an “artist.” I see myself as a recorder, devoted to making visible the points of contact between society and people.

– What does a free day look like?

I watch documentary films, read books, and listen to vinyl while endlessly reviewing my photo archive and film contact sheets, editing my work. Above all, however, I plan my days around the schedules of my three daughters.