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Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara on his art’s meaning, and chasing the ‘carefree freedom’ of childhood
- Yoshitomo Nara, one of Japan’s leading contemporary artists, talks about his influences, from punk rock to Kraftwerk, and what drives him – it isn’t money
Reading Time:6 minutes
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I am from Aomori, in the north of Japan’s main island of Honshu. It is a rural area known for the production of apples.
Farmers there are quite poor and most people who grow up there don’t enjoy a high level of education. My mum, who came from a farming family, wasn’t an exception and she didn’t go to high school.
My father came from a more prominent family. His father was a Shinto priest and initially he set out to become a priest himself.
My father was working at the shrine when my brothers were born – they are about eight and nine years older than me. Growing up, they got a lot of attention because my dad was a priest and well respected in the community.
Working parents
I guess my father didn’t like being a priest because he quit, took a test to become a civil servant and started working for City Hall.
Kate Whitehead is a journalist and author of two Hong Kong crime books, After Suzie and Hong Kong Murders. She is also a qualified psychotherapist and recently won the MIND Media Award for the second consecutive year.
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