Lirio Sakiko Nomura

A photo book by Japanese photographer Sakiko Nomura.

After approaching photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, who was famous for not taking on apprentices, and directly approaching him in 1991, Nomura became his apprentice. Over the next nearly a quarter of a century, she studied under him, photographing kabuki actors and film stills, and even working on her own projects on her days off. Photography has been at the heart of her life.

This book will be released in conjunction with Paris Photo 2025.

Spread among previously unpublished works are works shot in Granada, Spain in 2024, which will be shown for the first time at the major retrospective "Sakiko Nomura: Tender is the Night," to be held the following year at Fundación MAPFRE in Madrid (February 6–May 11, 2025).

The title "Lirio" (lily/iris) is a Spanish word meaning a flower offered to the dead, a symbolic presence that connects the living and the dead. With this symbolism at its core, the work delicately depicts the intimate memories that live between what is lost and what remains.

Editing, binding design, and publishing were handled by leading Japanese bookbinder Satoshi Machiguchi.
The cover is made of an original linen paper cloth woven from twisted linen and paper, and there are two designs (SCAR Edition / DAWN Edition) that combine its unique texture with the bookbinding concept of "scars carved in the darkness lead to dawn."

The title logo uses the font "Federico," designed by Moscow typographer Olga Umpeleva based on the handwriting of Spanish poet Federico García Lorca.
They play the role of flowers that bring lyricism and tranquility to the world of the photo book "Lirio."