Ariko Inaoka

Born in Kyoto. Photographer and 16th-generation head of Owariya soba business. Ariko Inaoka went to the United States at the age of 17, discovered photography in high school, and went on to study in the Photography program of Parsons School of Design in New York. After graduating, she started her career as a New York-based photographer. In 2001, she experienced the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States. The following year she visited Iceland, where she was fascinated by the scenery of the water. Thus began a five-year period of traveling to Iceland to photograph the country’s water-filled landscape, culminating in the release of her first photobook, SOL (Akaaka Art Publishing), in 2008. The next year she began photographing twin sisters she met in Iceland; this project continued for eight years, culminating in 2020 release of her second photobook, Eagle and Raven (Akaaka Art Publishing). During this time, in 2014, she became the 16th head of the family business, which was founded over 550 years ago. She continues to lead a double work life, as head of the Owariya soba shop and as a photographer. She has been active in Europe, exhibiting at IBASHO gallery in Antwerp, Belgium in 2020, London Photo in 2020, Revela’T International Photo Fair in Spain in 2018. And she is invited to exhibit at Gerðuberg Library and Cultural Center in Reykjavik, Iceland for two months in November, 2022.