Masahisa Fukase Fukase Masahisa Iwanamishoten/1998/Japanese/225*230*10 The reissue of ‘Crows’ by British publisher MACK has accelerated the global recognition of Masahisa Fukase (1934-2012), one of Japan's most representative photographers. After working at Japan Design Center and Kawade Shobo Shoten, he became freelance in 1968. His first photobook, “Play,” published in 1971, “established a style that incorporated theatrical elements while focusing on private realities” (from the cover). Continuing to photograph his wife Yoko, his second book Yoko (1978) developed photography as a form of “private novel.” After divorce, following autobiographical attempts themed around family and his father, his series “My Scenery” deliberately included himself, “striving to explore the meaning of the ‘I’ who takes photographs in various forms” (from this book). This volume, the 34th in Iwanami Shoten's “Japanese Photographers” series featuring 40 photographers, serves as an introductory book summarizing key aspects of Fukase's career. It includes commentary by photography critic Kotaro Iizawa and Akiko Ohtake, a prolific writer on photography.