Modern Photography in Japan 1915-1940
by Kaneko Ryuichi & Deborah Klochko
Rare Japanese Photobooks
The works of prominent Japanese photographers from the past 50 years are now highly collectible. Connoisseurs of photobooks have become familiar with names like Eikoh Hosoe, Kikuji Kawada, and particularly Nobuyoshi Araki and Daido Moriyama.
Araki has been prolific over the decades but critics have accused him of veering into pornography. Lady Gaga was one of his more recent subjects. AbeBooks has sold more than 20 of his photobooks for prices in excess of $500.
Moriyama is famous for grainy black and white photography illustrating how traditional values have eroded in Japan since the end of World War II. Moriyama’s limited edition book (300 copies) about Buenos Aires has been popular with collectors – a number of copies have sold for between $500 and $800 on AbeBooks.
Hiroshi Sugimoto is another Japanese photographer to have captured the interest of collectors in the West. AbeBooks has sold several copies of Sugimoto’s Theaters – a surreal book that shows the interiors of cinemas - for $1,800 each.
Japanese photography has gone through various creative periods – the photobooks of the post-World War II era, the 1960s and the 1970s were particularly pioneering.
Selection of Collectible Japanese Photobooks
Kamaitachi
by Eikoh Hosoe
The original 1969 publication was a collaboration between Hosoe and dancer Tasumi Hijikata.
Children in Chikuho
by Ken Domon
A documentary describing the life of coal miners – first published in 1960.
Early Summer Nerves
by Kiyoshi Koishi
Limited edition of 100 numbered copies – pioneering ‘new wave’ photos from 1933.
Killed by Roses
by Eikoh Hosoe
An unusual series of photos depicting author Yukio Mishima in his garden.
Hiroshima
by Ken Domon & Shomei Tomatsu
Photographs reflecting the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Hunter
by Daido Moriyama
An important piece of social commentary - women, children, cars, horizons and animals.
Waterfall Rapture Postcards of Falling Water
by Tadanori Yokoo
Pages and pages filled with photos in postcard format.
Theaters
by Hiroshi Sugimoto
A surreal book of the interiors of movie theaters and drive-in theaters.
Taiji Matsue
by Taiji Matsue
Photos of Iran, Arizona, Costa Rica, the Sahara and the Andes, Tasmania, New Mexico.
Utatane
by Rinko Kawauchi
Photos of everyday life - clouds, a curtain, a tire, fried eggs, a grandfather, a butterfly.
Spider’s Strategy
by Osamu Kanemura
Photos of Tokyo’s infrastructure taken while the photographer was on his paper round.
The History of Japanese Photography
by Anne Wilkes Tucker et al
Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in 2003.
Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s and ‘70s
by Ryuichi Kaneko & Ivan Vartanian
A showcase of 40 definitive publications from these decades.
Japanese Nudes and the Amateur Photographer
by George Nikodaidis
43 studies of ordinary young women from bars and coffee shops.
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