Kento Nagayoshi: Let Your Guard Down

Originally featured in Container Love’s latest print publication, The Identity Issue, this series resonates deeply within the spirit of Love Or Nothing. In Kento’s images, intimacy becomes an act of trust and presence – a reminder that connection lives in small gestures, shared space, and the courage to be seen.

“Look back at all the things you’ve been drawn to, one by one, from childhood up to now. Even among everything that seems completely unrelated, you may find common threads, and come to understand what has shaped your identity” – life happens in the little moments, and there are few who can capture them with such vividity and ease as Tokyo photographer Kento Nagayoshi. Often remembered but rarely displayed, it’s the everyday intimacy that makes Kento’s pictures strangely familiar and disarming.

“More than their appearance, I often find myself drawn to a kind of strength that lies beneath the surface. I want people to see that even ordinary moments in daily life can look cinematic or dramatic, depending on how you view them.

In Japanese society, especially when it comes to intimacy between close partners, friends, or family, there’s a general tendency to protect one’s privacy. Because of that, I don’t think many people openly express intimacy in public or through their work. That said, I do feel that things are gradually changing, at least in some areas. I don’t see my photos as conventionally beautiful. If anything, I think they’re quite raw, so I imagine they might not be something that appeals to everyone. But in my circles, I’ve had a lot of people approach me directly, saying they want to be part of a shoot. That makes me feel like more people are becoming open to expressing themselves and wanting to be seen as they are.”

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