Ryuichi Kaneko & Ivan Vartanian - Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s And '70s - 2009

Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s And '70s

Ryuichi Kaneko & Ivan Vartanian
AKAAKA /2009/Japanese/233*303*20

The History of Japanese Photobooks 1956-1986 by Ryuichi Kaneko, a renowned Japanese photography historian and photobook collector, and editor Ivan Vartanian. Focusing on domestic photobooks published in the 1960s and 70s, it “carefully selects and includes a diverse range of 60 photobooks, encompassing rare editions and private press publications.” It also provides “detailed commentary, production histories, and behind-the-scenes stories known only to those involved, along with valuable data on the designers, editors, publishers, and others who contributed to their creation.” (Publisher's description). It features masterpieces that can be called cornerstones of Japanese photobook history, from Hiroshi Hamatani's ‘Snow Country’ (1956) to Daido Moriyama, Takuma Nakahira, Nobuyoshi Araki, Yutaka Takanashi, Kazumasa Suda, Kiyoshi Suzuki... culminating in Masahisa Fukase's ‘Crows’ (1986). Kaneko comments on the pages devoted to the still strikingly compelling photobooks of the 60s and 70s: “I feel that photobooks created during this period all carry a strong message: ‘I am a photographer.’ They pursued an expression achievable only through photography—not film or print—and specifically through the unique presentation possible in photobooks, which combine multiple photographs.”