AWARDS

The Jury Committee of the 42nd Higashikawa Awards

Anju <Photographer>
UENO Osamu <Photo Critic>
KAMIYAMA Ryoko <Curator, Japanese postwar art history >
KITANO Ken <Photographer>
KOHARA Masashi <Curator / Associate professor at Tokyo Polytechnic University>
SHIBASAKI Tomoka <Novelist>
NIWA Harumi <Curator, Photo Critic>
HARA Koichi <Art Designer>

Commentary on the Selection of the 42nd Higashikawa Photography Awards

  The judging session for the 42nd Higashikawa Awards was held on February 26, 2026. This year, the nominees included 53 candidates for the Domestic Photographer Award, 57 for the New Photographer Award, 22 for the Special Photographer Award, 45 for the Hidano Kazuuemon Award, and 12 for the Overseas Photographer Award. From the morning, the committee reviewed photobooks and related materials. As the number of artists and works had increased compared to previous years, the schedule was adjusted by shortening lunch to ensure sufficient viewing time. In the afternoon, the eight jurors began the selection process, choosing recipients for the five awards from a total of 158 artists (189 nominations in total).

       For the Domestic Photographer Award, the field was narrowed down to seven finalists in the final stage. As is often the case, the candidates were all compelling in different ways, making for an extremely difficult decision. This year, however, discussions deepened even further than usual, and the voting results shifted multiple times. Ultimately, the award went to INA Eiji. His photobook ZONE, published last year, revisits and updates work from the 1980s using contemporary technology. Interestingly, ZONE was also the work for which INA received the New Photographer Award at the 4th Higashikawa Award in 1988. This development may be said to embody a key characteristic of photography as a medium, both swift and slow, and precisely because of that slowness, profoundly contemporary. As the deliberations progressed, the exploration of “seeing” that unfolded between the two versions of ZONE became vividly apparent and proved decisive.

       The New Photographer Award was narrowed down to OKABE Momo, FUJIMORI Megumi, HAYASHI Noriko, and YOSHIE Jun, and was ultimately awarded to HAYASHI Noriko. As a documentary photographer, HAYASHI has consistently pursued themes of gender and memory through meticulous fieldwork. In recent years, she has been engaged in a long-term project exploring personal memory and the concept of place within the historical relationship between Japan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Her steadily deepening body of work was highly praised. At a time when documentary photography is becoming increasingly difficult, the significance of her practice is immeasurable.

       The Special Photographer Award went to NAKANISHI Toshiki, who received an overwhelming majority in the first round of voting. Since around 1989, NAKANISHI has repeatedly traveled to Hokkaido, eventually relocating to the town of Biei in 2012, and has continued to engage deeply with the region. For him, Hokkaido is not merely a subject, but a place to live, to think, and to expand photographic expression. His work, which he describes as focusing on “the traces of human activity and institutions, and the social structures that have shaped them,” is remarkable for both its scale and its high level of completion.

       As suggested by the increase in nominations, the Hidano Kazuuemon Award—established in 2010 at the 26th iteration—has grown into a prize with its own distinct tradition. This year, alongside ongoing discussions about the nature of the award itself, TAGAWA Motonari was selected. Although he is the youngest recipient of the award to date, his careful, long-term approach to themes such as place, memory, history, culture, and faith—particularly the series developed from his roots on remote islands in Nagasaki Prefecture—was highly evaluated. It is encouraging to see that the award’s guiding principle, “to recognize individuals who have long documented the people, nature, and culture of a region and contributed to that region,” has gained new breadth. 

       For the Overseas Photographer Award, following a detailed and thoughtful presentation based on research by KIKUTA Mikiko, the jury selected Martina HOOGLAND IVANOW from Sweden. Her abstract visual language, in which the subject is not immediately identifiable, her narrative image construction, and her poetic approach that leaves room for interpretation all pose universal questions about what it means to be human. Moving across the boundaries between fiction and documentary, her work which addresses themes such as life, time, memory, and absence illuminates the possibilities of photographic expression.

 　       As noted at the outset, this year’s judging made it clear that the pool of nominated artists has grown stronger and the range of works has expanded significantly. This can be seen as evidence that the history built up by the Higashikawa Awards continues to be supported and that its future is highly anticipated. In response to these expectations, we too approach the judging process with ever greater focus, care, and thorough discussion. Needless to say, such a rich environment is made possible only through the tremendous efforts and shared commitment of the people of Higashikawa. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for this exceptional setting.

UENO Osamu
Higashikawa Photography Award Jury Committee