https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/course-chronicles-japanese-photography
The advent of photography, or shashin (“sha,” meaning “to reproduce,” and “shin,” which means “truth”), in Japan in the mid-19th century coincided with the invention of the daguerreotype in France and the end of Japan’s national isolation. Led by photographers Kansuke Yamamoto and Hiroshi Hamaya, Japanese photography of the 1920s and 1930s was largely shaped by the emergence of documentary photography in the United States and by established strains of Western Pictorialism and Surrealism. Post–World War II Japanese photography was dominated by street photographers Daido Moriyama, Osamu Kanemura, and Yakuma Nakahir, who used handheld cameras to capture the frenzied claustrophobia of daily life in urban Japan. Such photographers pursued a new photographic form, termed sunappu shotto (“snapshot, which was characterized by the aesthetics of rough, blurred, and out of focus images. As photography galleries arrived relatively late to Japan, photography magazines like Camera Mainichi, Asahi Camera, and most famously PROVOKE, as well the medium of the photobook, were integral to the medium’s development and popularity. Other significant figures in post-war and contemporary Japanese photography include Hiroshi Sugimoto, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Hiroshi Masaki.
The history of Japanese photography dates back to the late 19th century, when Japan first adopted Western-style photography. Prior to this, the country had a long tradition of art and visual representation, but photography as a medium was largely unknown.
In the 1870s, a number of Japanese photographers traveled to Europe and the United States to learn about the new medium, and soon after, photography began to spread rapidly in Japan. The early years of Japanese photography were marked by a fascination with the West and a desire to imitate Western styles and techniques. However, as photographers gained more experience, they began to develop their own unique style and techniques, incorporating traditional Japanese aesthetics and themes into their work.
One of the most significant developments in Japanese photography during this period was the rise of the photojournalism and documentary photography. In the aftermath of World War II, Japanese photographers began to document the country’s recovery and rebuilding efforts, capturing images of the country’s changing landscape and people. This period also saw the emergence of a number of prominent photographers, including Ihei Kimura, who is widely considered to be one of Japan’s greatest photojournalists.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Japanese photography was heavily influenced by the counterculture and avant-garde movements of the time. Photographers such as Eikoh Hosoe and Shomei Tomatsu began to push the boundaries of traditional photography, experimenting with new techniques and themes that reflected the social and political upheavals of the era. This period also saw the rise of street photography, as photographers sought to capture the everyday lives of the people in Japan’s cities and towns.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Japan experienced a period of rapid economic growth and modernization, and this was reflected in the country’s photography. Photographers such as Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki began to document the changes taking place in the country, capturing images of the new consumer culture and the rapidly changing urban landscape. This period also saw the emergence of new photographers, such as Masahisa Fukase, who challenged traditional notions of beauty and representation in their work.
Today, Japanese photography continues to evolve, with photographers exploring new themes and techniques, and incorporating new technologies into their work. The country has produced a number of highly regarded photographers, including Rinko Kawauchi, who has gained international recognition for her dreamlike images, and Risaku Suzuki, who has gained recognition for his stunning landscapes.
Japan has a huge photographic industry – if you were to name a camera brand, it’s likely to be Japanese. With a robust camera industry and a flair for the fine arts, it’s no surprise that Japan has a strong photography culture.
In the years following World War II (WWII), cameras became more advanced and affordable. Photography – photojournalism in particular – was on the rise around the world. Several Japanese photographers picked up their lenses to document the lives and landscape around them, unknowingly creating a distinct style that would define Japanese photography and influence generations of budding photographers.
We’ve made a list of some of the most influential Japanese photographers who continue to be studied today. With some luck, you’ll be inspired to create your unique style, too.
Japanese photography is rich and diverse, reflecting the country’s cultural, social, and political changes over the past century and a half. From its early beginnings as a Western import, Japanese photography has developed its own unique style and techniques, and has produced a number of highly regarded photographers who have left an indelible mark on the medium. Here are 10 contemporary photographers you should know.
Provoke was first published in November 1968 as a dojin-shi, or self-published magazine. It was originally conceived by art critic Koji Taki (1928-2011) and photographer Takuma Nakahira (1938-2015), with poet Takahiko Okada (1939-1997) and photographer Yutaka Takanashi as dojin members. The subtitle for the magazine was “Provocative Materials for Thought”, and each issue was composed of photographs, essays and poems. After releasing the second and third issue with Daido Moriyama as a subsequent member, the group broke up with their last publication First, Abandon the World of Pseudo-Certainty – an overview edition of the three issues. Provoke’s grainy, blurry, and out-of-focus photographs were initially ridiculed as are-bure-boke and stirred a great deal of controversy, yet it had created a strong impact inside and outside of the photography world during that time.
Shinya Arimoto
Tatsuo Suzuki
Miho Kajioka
Miho Kajioka
Keiichi Tahara
Ayumi Tanaka
Hiroshi Watanabe
Kimiko Yoshida
Shunji Dodo (百々 俊二)
Masahisa Fukase (深瀬 昌久)
Tamiko Nishimura (西村多美子)
Takehito Miyatake (宮武 健仁)
Shomei Tomatsu (東松 照明)
Osamu Jinguji : Everything is in flux and nothing is permanent
Ice Formations by Ryota Kajita
Architecture by Koji Tajima
Shinji Ichikawa : The essence
Water – Tomohide Ikeya
Otsuka Chino (Japanese, b. 1972)
Shiga Lieko (Japanese, b. 1980)
Onodera Yuki (Japanese, b. 1962)
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Eikoh Hosoe
Issei Suda
Shōji Ueda
Yōichi Midorikawa
Sawada Tomoko (Japanese, b. 1977)
Ishiuchi Miyako (Japanese, b. 1947)
On-line resources
https://www.artsy.net/gene/japanese-photography
https://photobookstore.co.uk/collections/japanese-photobooks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography_in_Japan
https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/14435/six-japanese-photographers-michael-hoppen-frieze
https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/younger_gen/
https://artblart.com/tag/contemporary-japanese-photography/
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/2525
https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/japanese-photographers
https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/japanese-photographers
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Japan is a unique place for photography and has a special relationship with the medium. Known for its amazing Nippon publications and highly developed photo industry, Japan has one of the most innovative and distinctive photography cultures and is an excellent place to eye new talent.
Following World War II, cameras became much more affordable in the country, and with their technical characteristics improved, many more people tried their talent in photography. Soon, Japan became one of the world centres for photography with leading camera brands and photo equipment originating and developing there. Photojournalism was also on the rise in this period and many Japanese photographers took cameras to record the world around them in their work.
Between 1957 and 1972, a ground-breaking group of radically experimental photographers, which significantly contributed to 20th-century art, emerged in Japan. With the traumas of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by the US occupation, Japanese photographers turned to the fast and intuitive qualities of the photographic medium to capture the nation’s post-war experience. Bold in their execution, these artists, grouped in the Provoke collective, developed a new visual language that broke all the rules and created iconic images with a strong narrative thread.
Although photography was on the rise, the market was still small, so photographers turned to photo books and magazines like PROVOKE, Asahi Camera, and Camera Mainichi to circulate their work, a tradition that continues to this day.
In 1974, a group exhibition titled New Japanese Photography opened in MoMA, which launched Japanese photography on the international scene. After MoMa, a number of solo and group retrospectives of Japanese photographers followed, which raised the profiles of these artists.
Below, we made a list of some of the most influential Japanese photographers, known for their unique style, who continue to influence generations of budding photographers.
Editors’ Tip: Ravens and Red Lipstick: Japanese Photography since 1945
This rich volume provides one of the first overviews of Japanese photography to be published in English. Drawing on extensive research, Lena Fritsch traces the development of Japanese photographic work chronologically, from the first contact with the medium to the severity of post-war Realism and the diverse ingenuity of photography in contemporary Japan. Interspersed are fascinating original interviews with some of the most influential photographers of each era about their life and career, including Daido Moriyama.