Kimiko Nishimoto self portrait — © Kimiko Nishimoto

At 95 years old, Kimiko Nishimoto may very well be crowned as Japan’s most creative obachan. Her life has taken many diverse turns, none particularly centered around creativity. But at the age of 72, she stumbled upon a new passion: photography.

The cycling housewife

When we say Nishimoto walked different paths in life, we mean it. As a Brazil-born kiddo, her parents taught agriculture techniques to locals, before moving to Kumamoto in Japan. When she turned 18, Nishimoto worked as a hairdresser in the salon of her father.

The first unique turn takes place when she qualifies as a professional cyclist at the age of 22. Alongside her two brothers, Nishimoto competed nationally for a total of 5 years before dedicating herself to the role of homemaker. That is, until she suddenly discovered a hidden world of beauty and joy in photography.

Photography

Nishimoto is a woman of many interests, always eager for new experiences. So, she decided to enroll in a photography class, simply because, why not? The class took place in 2001, taught by her eldest son who is an art director. Mind you, Nishimoto was 72 at the time and never touched a camera before.

From that day on, she embraced the way of the camera, and started experimenting, leading up to Nishimoto’s first solo exhibition in 2011. Don’t think anyone is ever planning to have a first solo exhibition at 82 years old. Some years later, she had an exhibition called Asobokane in Shinjuku. In the meantime she became an internet phenomenon, growing a huge social media following with her humorous approach to self-portraits.

Nishimoto’s work is bizarre but oh so entertaining. Seeing an obachan who is, let’s be real, the backbone of Japanese society, hoovering in a fairy costume or posing in a garbage bag, is a unique sight to say the least. There is no big philosophy hiding behind her pictures. Nishimoto claims she just likes to take photos that are interesting and funny, with stuff she finds around her. A true motto. We can all learn from this badass obachan.