Purple Magazine
— Purple #43 S/S 2025
The Tokyo Diary Issue

kunichi nomura

text by AARON ROSE portraits by WATARU FUKAYA   Known to his friends as Kun, he is the soul of Tokyo nightlife. In addition to being a vibrant figure on the city’s social scene, Kun is an art director, actor, and DJ.   The first time I met Kunichi Nomura, he pulled up alongside a busy sidewalk in Shibuya, driving a yellow convertible Mini Moke, a miniature British jeep so small it could almost be a toy. “Aaron-san!” he screamed, his head towering above the windshield. He was wearing his signature Moscot sunglasses. Slicked hair. A brat-pack smirk. He was the epitome of a Japanese James Dean. A stud. An enigma. I was in Tokyo producing an exhibition at Laforet Museum, and Kun (as Kunichi’s friends call him) was to be the project manager. I could tell immediately, though, that with Kun, there is much more than meets the eye….

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