A Japanese immigrant's beautiful portraits of 1990s Harlem

Image: Courtesy of Katsu Naito & TBW Books

In 1983, 18-year-old Katsu Naito arrived in New York City from his small hometown of Maebashi, Japan.

With little English, he worked as a chef in a Japanese restaurant to earn his green card, and in his spare time unwound by studying Diane Arbus photo books in a SoHo bookstore.

By 1988, he had settled in Harlem, a neighborhood still clawing its way out of the economic devastation of the 1970s.

He took up the habit of wandering the neighborhood with his camera in hand, a practice that understandably aroused suspicion from his neighbors.

But he didn’t take any photos. He walked the rounds, day after day, without clicking the shutter once. In time, he began to recognize familiar faces, and his neighbors became assured he wasn’t a cop or tourist. Read more…

More about History, Retronaut, New York, 1990s, and Harlem

Source: Mashable | A Japanese immigrant's beautiful portraits of 1990s Harlem