AWARDS

The Jury Committee of the 41st 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 41st Higashikawa Photography Awards

       The 41st Higashikawa Award Photography Town jury meeting was held on February 20, 2025. This year’s nominees included 39 for the Domestic Photographer Award, 45 for the New Photographer Award, 20 for the Special Photographer Award, 31 for the Hidano Kazuuemon Award, and 15 for the Overseas Photographer Award. As with previous years, the morning session was dedicated to carefully reviewing photo books and materials, followed by the afternoon session where eight jury members selected five award winners from a total of 140 artists (150 including duplicates.)

       The Domestic Photographer Award was narrowed down to four candidates at the final stage of selection. At this point, the selection process becomes especially challenging, as each artist possesses unique and compelling qualities. After thorough deliberation, repeated discussions, and multiple rounds of voting, KON Michiko was selected by a narrow margin. KON gained significant attention for her large-scale solo exhibition “Philia –– Michiko Kon”, held at the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura Annex, from 2021 to 2022. In this year’s judging, her latest works, which expanded the range of motifs and objects while delving deeper into themes of life and death, were highly acclaimed. Notably, KON was also the recipient of the New Photographer Award at the 3rd Higashikawa Awards in 1987. It is a delight to see her, nearly four decades later, honored with the Domestic Photographer Award for her new artistic developments.

       The New Photographer Award is always a competitive category, and this year was no exception. However, in the voting round after narrowing down to 13 candidates, SUZUKI Nozomi received overwhelming support and was selected as the winner. SUZUKI explores the latent images hidden in everyday objects, seeking to make them visible through the fundamental principles of photography. Her approach, which aspires to act as a “medium and translator of the language of light,” sheds light on the power structures of seeing and being seen in a multi-layered way, using photography, a medium that also embodies the development of modern industry. In recent years, her work has skillfully intertwined historical and social events with personal memories, dynamically interweaving grand and intimate narratives. This evolving practice makes her a deserving recipient of the Emerging Photographer Award.

       The Special Photographer Award was given to MORIYA Yuki, who researched the wartime bunkers scattered along the eastern coast of Hokkaido. These structures were hastily built toward the end of World War II in anticipation of a U.S. invasion but were never actually used. MORIYA, reflecting on landscapes and the gaze directed toward enemies, transformed these pillboxes into pinhole rooms, capturing images of the scenery seen through the gun ports—small windows designed for shooting enemies—onto film and notebooks. Anticipation is building to see what perspective his “Distant peal” series will bring to light in the upcoming award-winners’ exhibition at the Higashikawa Bunka Gallery.

       The Hidano Kazuuemon Award was given to AHAGON Shoko, who led a non-violent land struggle alongside farmers on Iejima, Okinawa, during the postwar U.S. military occupation. AHAGON began photographing in 1955 to document the forced land seizures and the brutality by the U.S. military. Notably, he was the only person on the island with a camera, which he used as a means of resistance. The 2024 exhibition “Shoko Ahagon: Photography, Resistance, and the People of the Island” digitized approximately 3,200 preserved negatives, incorporating daily snapshots and portraits of residents. The exhibition successfully connected AHAGON’s activism as a peace movement leader to the present day, demonstrating the continued relevance of his work.

       After careful evaluation based on the research presented by KIKUTA Mikiko, the jury selected Arturas VALIAUGA from Lithuania for the Overseas Photographer Award. VALIAUGA’s work questions the identity of Lithuanians through various subjects, including immigrants, people commuting across the Baltic Sea for education and work, small towns caught between German and Soviet influences, and villages with nuclear power plants. Rather than merely expressing nostalgia or regret for a lost past, his work critically examines what has changed and why—an approach that was highly praised.

       Now in its 41st year, the Higashikawa Awards stand out for their tradition of hosting not only an award ceremony but also exhibitions, symposiums, and networking events with winners every summer. As jury members, we envision the atmosphere of the Higashikawa Photo Festival as we deliberate, reinforcing that the selection process does not conclude on the day of judging. Instead, it is an ongoing connection to the past, present, and future of the festival. From the “1985 Declaration of the Town of Photography” to the “2014 Declaration of the Culture Capital of Photography”, the Higashikawa Awards continue to be shaped by the extraordinary dedication and shared vision of the town’s people, to whom we extend our deepest gratitude.

UENO Osamu
Higashikawa Photography Award Jury Committee