Rikio Tsuno 津野力男 - 陰翳礼讃 INEIRAISAN - 2002

Photographer Tsuno Rikio's photobook ‘In Praise of Shadows / Ineiraisan’ full of striking black and white imagery.

Condition: very good, protected by removable plastic cover, inside clean and unmarked, no stains or foxing.

This book is a collection of works published to mark the 30th anniversary of the reversion to Japanese sovereignty. The title is drawn from the literary master Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's celebrated work 'In Praise of Shadows', inspired by the passage: ‘~ gradually discovering beauty within the shadows, and eventually learning to utilise shadows to serve the purpose of beauty ~’. It is a volume captivating for its profound monochrome images, resonating with the aesthetic sensibility of traditional Japanese ink wash painting.

Tsuno Rikio was born in 1928 in Kaohsiung Prefecture, Taiwan, he remained there until the end of the Pacific War. During the 1970s, he studied at the WORKSHOP photography school led by photographers such as Shomei Tomatsu and Eikoh Hosoe. He subsequently established the Okinawa Prefecture Branch of the All Japan Photographic Federation. In 1996, he was awarded the Okinawa Prefecture Cultural Merit Award (Photography, Arts and Culture), cementing his status as a representative photographer of the region.