Hiroshi Nagai (永井博) is a Japanese illustrator and painter, born on 22 December 1947 in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. He is best known for the album covers he painted for Japanese pop records in the late 1970s and 1980s, which became the defining look of the music genre now called City Pop.

City Pop is a style of Japanese pop music from the late 1970s and 1980s that blends pop, soft rock, funk, jazz and R&B with a glossy, urban, carefree feel. Nagai painted dozens of covers for these records, and his sunlit pools, palm trees and empty seaside scenes became so closely tied to the sound that, for many fans, his paintings are what City Pop looks like.

His most celebrated cover is Eiichi Ohtaki's 1981 album A Long Vacation, followed by Ohtaki's Niagara Song Book. He painted more than fifty album covers in total, and his work has been gathered in art books such as Time Goes By, Pools, Cruisin', Human Nature and Tropical Modern.

Swimming pools, palm trees, clear blue skies, ocean horizons, modernist houses and hotels, shopping malls, diners, classic cars and endless summer light. His scenes are almost always empty of people, which gives them a calm, dreamy and slightly nostalgic mood: a feeling of being somewhere perfect just after everyone has left.

Nagai is known for flat, clean planes of colour, sharp edges and smooth airbrush-style gradients, working with acrylic and spray paint. His signature contrast is deep, saturated blue against jet black, which gives his skies and water their bright, dry, high-summer look.

He grew up watching his father paint landscapes in oil as a hobby. After trips to Guam, Hawaii and the United States in the early-to-mid 1970s, the Pacific light, resorts and Californian architecture he saw there became the starting point for his style. He was also drawn to pop art, surrealism and hyperrealism.

His pools are often compared with David Hockney's Californian paintings, and the two share a sun-bleached palette. Nagai himself has said in interviews that he did not know Hockney's work in his early days, and that similar ideas sometimes appear in different corners of the world.

The online revival of City Pop over the last decade (through streaming, YouTube mixes and the vaporwave aesthetic) introduced his covers to a new, global audience. That led to his first international solo exhibition in Sydney in 2020–2021 and further shows abroad since, including in Bangkok in 2026.

Yes. He continues to paint and exhibit, and has recently created new works for international exhibitions.

His official website is hiroshinagai.com. His art books (published in Japan) are a great way to see the full range of his work, and his exhibitions are the best way to see originals in person.

Fine art reproductions of Hiroshi Nagai artworks in three formats:

• Posters — unframed archival paper prints.
• Canvases — stretched on a wooden frame, ready to hang.
• Framed posters — the archival print in a wood frame with plexiglass, ready to hang.

See our Print Quality & Materials page for full specifications.

No. Every piece is a high-quality printed reproduction, made to order. They are not original paintings, and they are not hand-signed or numbered.

A 250 gsm (110 lb) matte archival paper: uncoated, acid-free (pH above 7) and FSC-certified, about 0.29 mm thick. Acid-free paper resists yellowing over time, and the matte surface avoids glare under room lighting.

A cotton-polyester canvas (300–350 gsm) stretched over FSC-certified wooden stretcher bars with a 2 cm gallery profile. Canvases arrive ready to hang, with a hanging kit included (the hardware can vary by country).

Durable pine wood in four finishes: White, Wood (natural), Dark wood and Black. The front is shatterproof plexiglass rather than glass, which is lighter and safer to ship and hang. Framed posters arrive ready to hang.

No. Posters are sold unframed. If you would like your print framed, choose the Framed Poster version of the same artwork.

• Black makes the blues and oranges in Nagai's work look deeper and more graphic.
• White feels light, airy and gallery-like, perfect for bright, minimal rooms.
• Wood adds warmth and suits mid-century and Japandi interiors.
• Dark wood gives a classic, rich look that works well with darker furniture.

We reproduce colours as faithfully as possible, but every phone and monitor displays colour slightly differently, so the printed piece may look a little different from your screen. Small colour variations like this are normal and are not considered a defect.

Some artworks are reproduced from older source material. Grain, texture or small marks that are part of the source image are reproduced faithfully and are not printing defects.

You are welcome to email us with the title or a picture of the artwork you are looking for. We can't promise that every request is possible, but we read every suggestion and use them to decide what to add next.

No. Our prints are sold for personal use and as gifts. Buying a print gives you the physical piece, not the right to copy, scan, reproduce or resell the image. See our Terms of Service.

Most artworks are offered in the sizes below (exact options are shown on each product page):

• Poster: 21×29.7 cm (8×12″), 40×60 cm (16×24″), 60×90 cm (24×36″), 100×150 cm (40×60″).
• Framed poster: 21×29.7 cm (8×12″), 40×60 cm (16×24″), 60×90 cm (24×36″), 70×100 cm (28×40″).
• Canvas: 20×30 cm (8×12″), 40×60 cm (16×24″), 50×75 cm (20×30″), 70×100 cm (28×40″), 91×127 cm (36×50″), 134×172 cm (53×68″).

Our Size Guide has a full chart and room-by-room advice.

Sizes can vary by up to 1 cm. Inch sizes are rounded equivalents of the centimetre sizes, which are the precise reference.

A simple rule: the artwork should be about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it (sofa, bed or sideboard). For a feature wall with nothing below, go big: 60×90 cm and up. Small sizes (21×29.7 cm and 40×60 cm) work best on shelves, desks, hallways or in a gallery wall.

Hang it so the centre of the artwork sits at roughly eye level, about 145–152 cm (57–60″) from the floor. Above a sofa or sideboard, leave 15–25 cm (6–10″) between the furniture and the bottom of the piece.

We only offer the sizes listed on each product page. If you need something specific, email us and we will tell you if it's possible.

Every piece is made to order. Nothing is held in stock: once you place your order, your print is produced, finished and quality-checked by our print partner closest to your delivery address, then shipped to you.

Yes, but only before production starts, which happens shortly after payment. Email us immediately at support@hiroshinagaiprints.com with your order number. Orders cancelled before production are refunded in full. Once production has started, the order can no longer be changed or cancelled.

Prices are shown in the currency selected on the website. If your card uses a different currency, your bank may apply its own exchange rate and fees.

All available payment methods are shown at checkout. Payments are processed securely by our payment partners, and we never store your full card number.

Sales tax or VAT is charged where the law requires it and is shown at checkout. Import duties are separate and only apply in some countries (see Shipping below).

Unless a promotion says otherwise, one discount code can be used per order. Codes cannot be applied to past orders.

Absolutely. Just enter the recipient's name and address as the delivery address at checkout. Please make sure the address is complete, including any apartment or unit number, and add a phone number for the courier.

Check your spam or promotions folder first. If it isn't there, email us and we'll confirm your order and the email address it was placed with.

We ship worldwide. Each piece is printed by the partner closest to your address:

• Core network: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe.
• Regional network: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Brazil.
• Rest of the world: printed at the nearest partner facility and sent by international courier.

Shipping costs for your country are shown at checkout. Full details are in our Shipping & Delivery Policy.

Total time from order to delivery, including production:

• Core network: Posters 3–6, Canvas 4–7, Framed 5–8 business days.
• Regional network: Posters 6–10, Canvas 8–13, Framed 10–16 business days.
• Rest of the world: usually 10–20 business days.

These are estimates, not guaranteed dates. We can't offer express delivery.

Yes. Every parcel is tracked, and we email you the tracking details as soon as your order ships.

Different formats are made at specialised facilities, so multi-item orders may ship in separate parcels on different days, each with its own tracking number.

No import fees apply when your print is made in your own region, for example within the US, Canada, the UK or the EU. For other destinations, local import duties or taxes may be charged on arrival and are paid by the recipient.

No. We cannot deliver to PO boxes, APO/FPO/DPO addresses or parcel-forwarding services.

Check around your property, with neighbours and with building reception. If it's still missing, email us within 30 days and we'll open an investigation with the carrier.

If your order hasn't arrived 10 business days after the end of the estimated delivery window, contact us. Parcels confirmed lost are replaced free of charge.

We'll put it right. Within 30 days of delivery, email support@hiroshinagaiprints.com with your order number and photos of the whole piece, a close-up of the problem, the box and the shipping label. Keep all packaging until we reply. Once we confirm the claim, we send a replacement free of charge, or a full refund if you prefer.

No. Because every piece is made specifically for your order, we don't accept change-of-mind returns or exchanges (including for choosing the wrong size). Returns are accepted only for damaged, defective or wrong items reported within 30 days of delivery. This does not affect any right the mandatory consumer law of your country gives you.

Approved refunds are processed to your original payment method within 5 business days. Your bank may take a few extra days to show it.

Damage after delivery, accidents while hanging, fading from direct sunlight, heat or humidity damage, and prints that have been altered. Small colour differences versus your screen and size variations up to 1 cm are not defects.

Please contact us first. We reply within 2 business days and can almost always resolve the issue faster than a bank dispute. Full details are in our Returns & Refund Policy.

Canvases and framed posters arrive ready to hang with fittings included. Use a wall plug and screw suited to your wall type, especially for large pieces. Posters can be framed, or hung with poster hangers or clips.

Hang it indoors, away from direct sunlight, radiators, and damp rooms such as bathrooms. Dust frames and canvases with a soft, dry cloth, and never spray cleaner directly onto the artwork. Our Art Care Guide has all the details.

Unroll it on a clean, flat surface, image side up, and place light, clean weights on the corners for 24–48 hours. Don't iron it or roll it backwards tightly, as that can crease the paper.