Issei Suda (Photofile)

An illuminating introduction to little-known photographer Issei Suda, who captured the soul of Japan old and new.

The work of Issei Suda (1940–2019) is distinct in contemporary avant-garde Japanese photography for its celebration of the beauty of the everyday. His black-and-white pictures reflect on the apparent banality of urban life, capturing "the little surprises usually ignored in our world": the shadow of a figure, the shapes of the street, the expressions on strangers' faces. Suda's practice revealed the tensions between old and new Japan, juxtaposing the ingrained visual traditions of Japanese culture with the prevailing western vocabulary of fashion, advertising, and leisure, as seen through his observant and tender lens. 60 illustrations

Simon Baker is director of the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP).