Kentaro Yasu  (Japan)

After graduating from university, he joined a plant engineering company in Tokyo, where he worked on the installation of cooling water supply systems for industrial facilities.
In 2018, he was assigned to Thailand for five years, where he began photographing the construction workers he worked alongside on job sites.
He went on to document underground Muay Thai fights, cockfighting, and street scenes in Bangkok.
After returning to Japan, he studied photography for one year in a workshop led by street photographer Tatsuo Suzuki, while producing documentary work in Tokyo focusing on underground fighters and right-wing activists.
He later studied at the International Center of Photography in New York, where he continued photographing underground fighters and street scenes.
Having once aspired to become a professional fighter himself—but ultimately giving up that path—he is driven by a desire to document the pride and way of life of underground fighters who, despite lacking natural talent, favorable environments, or physical advantages, strive relentlessly to make themselves bloom.

■ Education

• 2025 – International Center of Photography (ICP), Creative Practices Program, New York, NY
• 2024 – Street Photography Workshop with Tatsuo Suzuki, Tokyo, Japan
• 2008 – B.A. in Economics, Kokugakuin University, Tokyo, Japan

■ Exhibitions

• 2025 – Look Up, International Center of Photography, New York, NY