Narahara Ikko - JAPANESQUE - 1970

A masterpiece that delves profoundly into Japan's aesthetic sensibility and spirituality.

Compiling the series “Nihon Zōfu” (Japanese Pictorial) originally serialised in the magazine Camera Mainichi, it exerted a profound influence on subsequent Japanese photographic expression.

Motifs unique to Japan—Mount Fuji, swords, Noh theatre, Zen, sumo—are rendered through Narawara's distinctive, incisive perspective and exceptional photographic technique. Rather than mere documentary photography, it vividly portrays the profound Japanese spirituality and cultural depths that lie beneath the surface.

The book design by graphic designer Tanaka Ikko and editing by Yamagishi Shoji further elevate the overall quality of this photobook.

It includes Narawara's own text, “A Journey to a Near Yet Distant Land”, and “The Heart of Young Japanese” by Yamazaki Masakazu. Reading these alongside the photographs invites deeper contemplation of Japanese culture and the hearts of its people.


[Title] JAPANESQUE: Complete Collection of the Mainichi Camera Series ‘Illustrated Atlas of Japan’
[Publisher] Mainichi Shimbun
[Publication Date] February 1970
[Number of Pages] 104 pages
[Dimensions] Approx. 37.0 × 26.0 × 1.5 cm

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)



Narahara Ikko (1931–2020)
Born 3 November 1931 in Ōmuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
After graduating from Chūō University's Faculty of Law in 1954, he published photographs themed on Hashima (Gunkanjima) in 1956 in the journal “Human Land”.

Completed a Master's degree in Art History at Waseda University Graduate School in 1959. Received the Bronze Prize at the 2nd Venice International Photography Biennale.

Formed the group ‘VIVO’ with Shomei Tomatsu, Eikoh Hosoe, Kikuji Kawada, Akira Sato, and Akira Tanno.
Travelled to Europe in 1962.
Received the Japan Photographic Society Annual Award in 1986 and the Higashikawa Prize Domestic Artist Award the following year, 1987.
Awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 1996.

Passed away in Tokyo on 19 January 2020.






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