AWARDS

Born in Anshan City, former Manchuria.  Left the Department of Photography at Nihon University, College of Art.  Self-published the photography book “ Resistance” in 1965 with his photographs capturing Zengakuren (All-Japan Federation of Students’ Self-Governing Associations ) protesting against the U.S. atomic submarine land at Yokosuka.  His work “Sanrizuka” was serialized in Asahigraph (Asahi Picture News) recording the fierce protests against making the new Tokyo International Airport.  Attained a high reputation by his works capturing the farmers lives in the fight from within and won the 22^nd New Photographer Award from The Photographic Society of Japan in 1972.   Ran the serial “To the Villages” in Asahi Camera since 1974 and won the 1^st Kimura Ihei Award with it in 1976.  Published “New World Story” gathering stories of the common people’s lives in Osaka in 1981 and “Funabashi Story” in 1989 with his essays and pictures of the people living in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture which was developed as a bedroom community of Tokyo.  In 2012, the retrospective exhibition “Somehow Familiar Places” was held at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. In 2013, he won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Photographic Society of Japan for his activities since the 1960s.  Won Paris Photo 2017 Guest of Honor for Paris Photo by Karl Lagerfeld, J.P Morgan Curator’s Highlights in 2017. 

His major public collections include Funabashi City Office, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, The Miyagi Museum of Art (Sendai), The Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, The Art Institute of Chicago (the US), The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (the US), Pier 24 Photography (the US), The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (the US), JP Morgan Chase Art Collection and so on.

Artist Statements

It’s been 60 years since I started taking photographs. Since I was 20 years old in 1964, I’ve been taking photos, and by 1970, my work started getting published in weekly magazines like Asahi Graph. The period around 1970 in Japan was the era of magazine dominance, with magazines of all genres competing for publication, including numerous camera and gravure photography magazines. Becoming a photographer in such an era, my photographs I continued to take have always been of the traditional lives of people in the village and the scenes there, all taken for the purpose of publication in magazines.

Taking photographs for magazines was hectic; often, I would develop the film and print the photos right after shooting, delivering freshly printed photos by the next morning. Looking back, I feel like I’ve managed quite well up until now.

I’m very happy to receive this award which feels like a pat on the back from Hidano Kazuuemon. Thank you very much.

KITAI Kazuo