Seikoh Sano - Diary of a Closed Mine - 1976

Diary of a Closed Mine

Seikoh Sano
Self-Published/1976/Japanese/250*265*25

Photographer Seiko Sano's photo collection, “Closure Diary.” Seiko Sano joined Akasaka Studio in 1963 and later studied under photographer Genjiro Yagi in 1967. This book is a documentary following the closure of the Ashio Mine, one of Japan's most representative mines. Due to the depletion of copper reserves and the importation of ore, the industry declined, and the closure of the Ashio Mine was announced on November 1, 1972, with the mine closing in 1973. The book begins with “Three Years Later,” which depicts the dilapidated workers' housing that had fallen into disuse, and includes photographs of the closure ceremony, the dissolution of the labor union, the former appearance of the mine, the scattered lives of the workers in Ashio, and copies of documents leading up to the closure. The vibrant workers, covered in dust, shedding their work clothes and heading toward a new beginning, evoke a sense of drama. However, the exhibition also carefully captures the complex expressions of workers caught up in the tides of time. This is one of the lesser-known masterpieces that was nominated for the Kimura Ihei Photography Award (that year, Heira Kōshichi's “Painukaji” won the award, and Tsuchida Hiromi's “Sokushin,” which was also nominated, did not win).