Naoki Ishikawa

Ishikawa's analog photographs frequently capture nature at its most extreme and the people that inhabit it, gaining a broad recognition for his ethnographic sensibility and curiosity, informed by his study of anthropology and ethnography at Waseda University. Ishikawa actively participates in the education of photography and anthropology; he has served as a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Sociology at Rikkyo University and the Photography department of Nihon University and is currently the director of the Photo Archipelago Setouchi school.

• Type Of Climber — High altitude mountaineer • Known for — First Japanese man to climb all 14 eight-thousanders and the Seven Summits • Major Ascents — Mount Everest (2001) Shishapangma (2024)

Ishikawa was raised in Hatsudai, Tokyo. His grandfather was the author and literary critic Jun Ishikawa. Throughout his childhood he attended the Catholic Gyosei International School in Chiba. Ishikawa's developed a craving for exploration early in his elementary school years, reading adventure and expedition books on his long commute by train to school. By his teenage years, Ishikawa was traveling to distant prefectures on weekends to hike with friends or camp outdoors by himself. In his second year of high school, Ishikawa made his first solo trip abroad to India and Nepal. Ishikawa’s interest in the outdoors led him to attend rallies raising awareness of environmental issues as a high school student. During one of these rallies, he became connected to the writer and canoeist Tomosuke Noda. Noda advocated that Ishikawa go to university when Ishikawa had expressed interest in becoming a newspaper reporter or journalist and the following year, he enrolled at Waseda University. Ishikawa received his bachelor's degree from Waseda University in 2002 with a specialization in anthropology and ethnography. He received his MFA in 2005 and later his Ph.D. in 2008, both at the Tokyo University of the Arts.

Ishikawa began high altitude climbing in his early twenties and quickly became an established climber internationally – at the age of 23, he became the youngest person to reach all seven summits by 2001 (no longer the record holder). His first ascent was Denali in 1998 and within the next year he reached the summits of both Mount Elbrus and Kilimanjaro on solo trips. In 2000, Ishikawa was selected by Martyn S. Williams to participate in the Pole to Pole project: a 9 month expedition which consisted of 8 young people from 5 different continents that traveled 32,970 km from the North Pole to the South Pole. At the end of the trip, Ishikawa stayed in Antarctica and climbed Vinson Massif in January 2001. Within the same year he climbed Aconcagua in Argentina, then to Puncak Jaya in Oceania, and finally to the North face of Mount Everest to complete the seven summits. Ishikawa has returned to the Himalayas repeatedly throughout his climbing career; each year between 2011 and 2019, he has either successfully summited a mountain on the Himalayas or attempted to. In May 2011, he summited Mount Everest for the second time through the Southeast ridge. In May 2012, he attempted to climb Lhotse (in Nepal) but had to withdraw midway due to landslides and dangerous climbing conditions. Later that year, Ishikawa summited Manaslu. In May 2013, he reattempted Lhotse and was able to reach the summit. In May 2014, he climbed Makalu in Nepal. In 2015, Ishikawa attempted K2 in Pakistan and the nearby Broad Peak, but had to withdraw from both mountains because of avalanches. In November 2018, he climbed Ama Dablam in Nepal and in July 2019, he climbed Gasherbrum II in Pakistan. Ishikawa's dedication to the Himalayas can be attributed to his view of the mountains as a "school" where the beautiful, yet harsh, conditions enable him to develop a greater sense of consciousness and appreciation. His affinity for the actual process of climbing mountains with such immense heights can also be attributed to the sensation, as described by Ishikawa, of "being reborn." In 2024, he climbed his final eight-thousander, Shishapangma, reaching the summit on October 4.

Ishikawa has penned numerous non-fiction books about his travels and children's adventure books.

In 2004, Ishikawa and balloonist Michio Kanda travelled in a hot air balloon across the Pacific Ocean. About 1,600 km from Japan, Ishikawa and Kanda realized that they did not bring enough fuel and were forced to land in the water. The two spent hours in a gondola until they were picked up and returned to Japan by a Panamanian cargo ship. Over four years after the trip, the gondola was found on the shores of Akusekijima – the person who had found Ishikawa’s gear reached out to Ishikawa. Among the gear was an old SLR that belonged to Ishikawa, which became known as the “drifting camera.” In 2008, Ishikawa wrote a non-fiction book based on the event titled 最後の冒険家 (= The Last Adventurer) which received the Kaiko Takeshi award.

• 2005: The Void, Shinjuku Nikon Salon, Tokyo; Osaka Nikon Salon, Osaka (2006) • 2007: Polar, Konica Minolta Plaza Tokyo; Scai the Bathhouse, Tokyo • 2008: Polar/New Dimension: Ishikawa Naoki Photo Exhibition, Kodak Photo Salon, Tokyo • Mt. Fuji • 2009: Archipelago, Canon Gallery S, Tokyo; Chukyo University Art Gallery C. Square, Nagoya; Niki Club, Tochigi (2010); Gallery Satsu, Tokyo (2010); Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum, Okinawa (2010) • 2011: 8848, Scai the Bathhouse, Tokyo • 2012: Remembrance 3.11, Yamagata Institute of The Arts, Yamagata; Ginza Nikon Salon, Tokyo; Osaka Nikon Salon, Osaka • 2015: New Map, Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, Kanagawa • 2016: Capturing the Map of Light on This Planet, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki; traveled to Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba (2017); Niigata City Art Museum (2017); The Museum of Art, Kochi (2018); Kitakyushu Municipal Museum of Art, Fukuoka (2018); Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2019) • 2020: Naoki Ishikawa Photo Exhibition, Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of Photography Nara City, Nara • 2020: Japonésia, Japan House, São Paulo; Museu Oscar Neimeyer, Brazil (2021)

• 2010: Setouchi International Art Festival, Fukutake House (Former Megi Elementary School), Kagawa • 2012: Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2012, Niigata • 2012: Daido Moriyama x Naoki Ishikawa To Nirvana and Back, Shibuya Hikarie 8/CUBE 1,2,3, Tokyo • 2014: Kunisaki Art Festival 2014, Kunimi Furusato Tenjikan Old Arinaga House & ZECCO, Oita • 2015: to the north, from here: naoki ishikawa + yoshitomo nara, The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo • 2017: Sapporo International Art Festival 2017, Miyanomori International Museum of Art, Sapporo, Hokkaido • 2017: Oku-Noto Triennale, Suzu, Ishikawa • 2017: Okinawa: Through the Eyes of a Photographer 1972–2017, Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum, Okinawa

Naoki Ishikawa is recorded with the occupation photographer. Recorded as photographer, writer, explorer and mountaineer. Established in Library of Congress under no2010125439. Established in FAST under 1949679.