Independent photographer  ·  Kyoto / Lisbon  ·  Est. 2014

Photographs of quiet light, made slowly.

I work with 35mm film and natural light, mostly in the early hours before the city remembers itself. Portraits, interiors, and the long quiet of gardens in winter.

Portrait of Mira Aoyagi in her studio
Mira, in her studio By Asa Ito · 2024
About / 01

For the past eleven years I have been making pictures in two cities I love and one I am still learning.

My work begins at 4:50 in the morning, usually with a thermos of barley tea, and ends when the light turns hard. I shoot on Kodak Portra 400 and a Leica M6 that was given to me by a friend leaving for Singapore. The camera is older than I am and slightly out of alignment on the rangefinder, which I have come to think of as its way of signing each frame.

I take on a small number of commissions each year — mostly portraits, occasionally a quiet wedding, rarely an editorial. If you would like to work together, please write. I answer all letters, though sometimes it takes me a few days.

Based in Kyoto, Japan
Also working from Lisbon, Portugal
Represented by Nomad Inc.

Selected works, made between 2019 and 2024.

Twelve frames / 02

Fragments from the archive, scrolling sideways.

Archive / 03 · hover to pause
Contact / 05

Write to me about your project, or simply say hello.

Studio
14-2 Karasuma-dōri
Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto
Japan 604-8005
Representation
Nomad Inc., Tokyo
bookings@nomad.jp
+81 75 000 0000