Kiichi Asano was born in Kameoka, a small town located in Kyoto Prefecture, to a family of farmers. Whilst a child, his family moved to Kyoto City and opened a confectionery shop. In 1933, at the age of nineteen, Asano saved up enough money to buy a Tōgō camera. At a time when indulging in photography would have been considered extravagant, Asano began taking pictures in Kyoto and its surroundings in secret. Even after he was sent to the battlefield from 1933 to 1943, Asano secretly continued to take pictures and to process his film in a makeshift darkroom. Film was scarce during the war and it was not until around 1948 that it became available again and that interest in photography became widespread.

Asano documented Kyoto and its traditions at a time when the historical city was transforming into a metropolis. It later became the subject of his first publication entitled Koto no Fu [Record of the Old Capital], 1954. Some of his most important photographic essays include Snow Country 1955-1958, Asano's photographs of rural life in Echigo, the Noto Peninsula and the Tōhoku region; and The Gion Quarter which Asano photographed at several points in his career. 

Asano was the recipient of many awards and was a lifetime member of the Japan Professional Photographer's Society (Nihon Shashinka Kyokai). 

Image: Portrait of Kiichi Asano taken in Echigo, January 1957.