Hi-Nikki (Non-Diary Diary) is a vivid and intimate photography collection that encapsulates the creative energy and acute daily sensitivity of the legendary Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki. The project originated in 2014 when the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain invited Araki to participate in a special initiative marking the foundation’s 30th anniversary. The concept was simple yet poetic: beginning in May 2014, Araki would take one photograph each day, which would then be presented weekly on the foundation’s website as a slideshow.
For Araki, however, one photo a day was far from enough. Immersed in the rhythm of creation, he transformed the camera into an extension of his breath and daily awareness. Over the course of the project—spanning from May 2014 to March 2015—he produced a total of 1,250 color photographs. These images depict a wide range of subjects from his everyday surroundings: urban scenes from Tokyo, portraits of young women, sensually charged still lifes, and snapshots taken in restaurants and bars in Kabuki-cho, a district Araki has long cherished and frequented. Each photograph is both a record of his life and a reflection of his inner world, capturing emotions and desires with unflinching honesty.
The complete body of work was eventually compiled into the photo book Hi-Nikki (Non-Diary Diary). The title cleverly indicates that this is not a conventional diary following chronological events, but rather a free-flowing visual stream—without structure, without narrative, but full of raw presence. Araki doesn’t hide his emotions, nor does he polish reality; instead, he embraces every fleeting moment, allowing each image to preserve its unique atmosphere and emotional texture.
This book is not only a testament to Araki’s prolific creative force but also a poetic experiment in seeing and being. There is no plot, yet feelings unfold. There is no formal logic, yet life pulses through every page. Hi-Nikki reveals how a photographer can transform the simple act of “pressing the shutter every day” into a gesture of devotion to the ordinary and a passionate ode to life itself. Through these moments and fragments, we glimpse Araki’s world—and are reminded to rediscover the sensitivity and intensity in our own.