Signed, Nobuyoshi Araki - Okinawa - 1971

Okinawa

Nobuyoshi Araki
Self-Published/1971/Japanese/125*180*10

This book is a collection of photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki (1940-), one of Japan's leading photographers, entitled ‘Continued Sentimental Journey to Okinawa: Nobuyoshi Araki Photography Collection 2 / Okinawa’, and follows the publication of ‘Sentimental Journey’ in a private edition in 1971 (private edition/limited edition of 1000 copies). The book contains photographs taken during Araki's time as an employee of Dentsu, when he visited Okinawa before the reversion to mainland Japan for a campaign photo shoot (Araki said it was his first time abroad because he needed a passport). Despite the title, there are not many photographs of Okinawa, and while the book captures fragments of everyday life, including his wife Yoko, it is also notable for its photocopied style, including cartoons, paintings, television and dollar notes. 1970 saw him ‘reiterate his philosophy that “photography is a photocopy.” ‘ (from Araki's profile), it may be said that this was a period in which he was exploring his own expression. The compact horizontal format and the design of the book, with one photograph per page on the node side, are also major features of the book (design: Katsumi Aburatani). Although Araki visited Okinawa many times afterwards and published his photographs as a book, this is a valuable volume from the early days of Araki's activities.