Hiroshi Nagai

• Name — Hiroshi Nagai • Native Name — 永井博 • Born — 22 December 1947 • Birthplace — Tokushima Prefecture, Japan • Known for — Illustration, graphic design • Notable Works — A Long Vacation (album cover), Niagara Song Book • Movement — City pop, Vaporwave, Pop art • Website — hiroshinagai.com

Nagai was born on December 22, 1947, in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. He was inspired to become an artist by his father, who enjoyed oil-painted landscapes, and began working as a graphic designer in 1970. Later, Nagai traveled to Tokyo, where he attempted to join art school although he was not accepted. After visiting the United States and Guam between 1973 and 1975, he was impressed by the scenery, which became the starting point of his subsequent style. Gaining an interest in pop art, he took inspiration from English artist David Hockney. Americana became a key component in his art. Starting in the 1980s, he created tropical and clear landscape illustrations as typified by the record jackets of Eiichi Otaki's A Long Vacation and Niagara Song Book. Nagai's work had an influence on the vaporwave style and gained wider recognition in the early 2020s, partially thanks to the YouTube era. In 2022, BroadwayWorld described him as a "legendary artist".