Ikko Narahara
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese photographer. Born in Fukuoka
, Narahara studied law at Chuo University
(graduating in 1954) and, influenced by statues of Buddha at Nara
, art history at the graduate school of Waseda University
(from which he received an MA in 1959).
He had his first solo exhibition, Ningen no tochi (Human land), at the Matsushima Gallery (Ginza
) in 1956. In this Narahara showed Kurokamimura, a village on Sakurajima
. The exhibition brought instant renown. In his second exhibition, "Domains", at the Fuji Photo Salon in 1958, he showed a Trappist monastery in Tobetsu (Hokkaidō
), and a women's prison in Wakayama
.
In the meantime, Narahara had shown his works in the first (1957) of three exhibitions titled The Eyes of Ten; exhibited in all three, and went on to co-found the short-lived Vivo
collective.
In 1962-5 he stayed in Paris, and after a time in Tokyo, from 1970-74 in New York. During this tima he took part in a class by The American photographer Diane Arbus
. He recorded Arbus' speech during these classes. These recordings would become an interesting document of the artists statements about her own work shortly before she committed suicide.
Narahara's work often depicts isolated communities and extreme conditions. He makes much use of wide angle lenses, even hemispherical-coverage ("circular") fisheye lens
es.
In 1967 Narahara won the Photographer of the Year Award from the Japan Photo Critics Association. He has won numerous other prizes.
From 1999 to 2005, Narahara was a professor at the Graduate School of Kyushu Sangyo University
(Fukuoka
).
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
, Narahara studied law at Chuo University
Chuo University
Chuo University is a one of the Japanese leading universities. Thus it is competitive in several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 27th, 25th, 34th during 2008-2010 respectively in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai.-Research...
(graduating in 1954) and, influenced by statues of Buddha at Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
, art history at the graduate school of Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
(from which he received an MA in 1959).
He had his first solo exhibition, Ningen no tochi (Human land), at the Matsushima Gallery (Ginza
Ginza
is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...
) in 1956. In this Narahara showed Kurokamimura, a village on Sakurajima
Sakurajima
, also romanized as Sakurashima or Sakura-jima, is an active composite volcano and a former island of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan...
. The exhibition brought instant renown. In his second exhibition, "Domains", at the Fuji Photo Salon in 1958, he showed a Trappist monastery in Tobetsu (Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
), and a women's prison in Wakayama
Wakayama, Wakayama
is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan.-Background:Wakayama occupies 4% of the land area and has 40% of Wakayama prefecture's population. The city was founded on April 1, 1889....
.
In the meantime, Narahara had shown his works in the first (1957) of three exhibitions titled The Eyes of Ten; exhibited in all three, and went on to co-found the short-lived Vivo
Vivo (photography)
Vivo was a short-lived Japanese photographic cooperative.Eikoh Hosoe, Kikuji Kawada, Ikkō Narahara, Akira Satō, Akira Tanno, and Shōmei Tōmatsu — six of the participants of the celebrated 1957 exhibition Jūnin no me — formed the Vivo cooperative in July 1957, naming it after the...
collective.
In 1962-5 he stayed in Paris, and after a time in Tokyo, from 1970-74 in New York. During this tima he took part in a class by The American photographer Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
. He recorded Arbus' speech during these classes. These recordings would become an interesting document of the artists statements about her own work shortly before she committed suicide.
Narahara's work often depicts isolated communities and extreme conditions. He makes much use of wide angle lenses, even hemispherical-coverage ("circular") fisheye lens
Fisheye lens
In photography, a fisheye lens is a wide-angle lens that takes in a broad, panoramic and hemispherical image. Originally developed for use in meteorology to study cloud formation and called "whole-sky lenses", fisheye lenses quickly became popular in general photography for their unique, distorted...
es.
In 1967 Narahara won the Photographer of the Year Award from the Japan Photo Critics Association. He has won numerous other prizes.
From 1999 to 2005, Narahara was a professor at the Graduate School of Kyushu Sangyo University
Kyushu Sangyo University
was founded in 1960 in Fukuoka City, and currently has twenty departments and six graduate schools. It is a private university.-Undergraduate Faculties and departments:*Faculty of Economics**Department of Economics*Faculty of Commerce**Department of Commerce...
(Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
).
Booklength collections
- Yōroppa: teishi shita jikan . Kajima, 1967.
- Supēn: Idai naru gogo España gran tarde. Kyūryūdō, 1969.
- Japanesuku . Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbun-sha, 1970.
- Ōkoku / Man and his land. Tokyo: Chūōkoronsha, 1971.
- Shōmetsu shita jikan / Where time has vanished. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbun-sha, 1975.
- Revised and augmented edition: Tokyo: Creo, 1995. ISBN 4-906371-20-5
- Ōkoku: Chinmoku no sono, kabe no naka . Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1978.
- Chikakute haruka na tabi . Tokyo: Shūeisha, 1979.
- Hikari no kairō: San Maruko . Tokyo: Unac, 1981.
- Shashin no jikan . Tokyo: Kōsakusha, 1981. With Seigow Matsuoka .
- Narahara Ikkō . Shōwa shashin zenshigoto 9. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbun-sha, 1983.
- Venetsia no yoru / Venice: Nightscapes. Tokyo: Iwanami, 1985. ISBN 4-00-008027-X. Most of the text is in Japanese only, but the captions and an essay by Narahara are in English as well as Japanese.
- Shōzō no fūkei . Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1985. ISBN 4-10-357501-8.
- Ningen no tochi , Human land. Tokyo: Libroport, 1987.
- Hoshi no kioku . Tokyo: Parco, 1987.
- Venetsia no hikari / Venetian Light. Tokyo: Ryūkō Tsūshin, 1985. ISBN 4-947551-93-3.
- Burōdowei / Broadway. Tokyo: Creo, 1991. ISBN 4-906371-05-1.
- Dyushan dai-garasu to Takiguchi Shūzō shigā bokkusu / Marcel Duchamp large glass with Shuzo Takiguchi cigar box. Tokyo: Misuzu, 1992. ISBN 4622042428.
- Kū / Emptiness. Tokyo: Libroport, 1994. ISBN 4-8457-0898-1.
- Takemitsu, TōruToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
and Giovanni Chiaramonte. Ikko Narahara: Japanesque. Milan: Motta, 1994. ISBN 88-7179-087-1. In Italian - Tokyo, the '50s. Tokyo: Mole, 1996. ISBN 4-938628-21-X.
- Narahara Ikkō . Tokyo: Iwanami, 1997.
- Poketto Tōkyō / Pocket Tokyo. Tokyo: Creo, 1997. ISBN 4-87736-010-7.
- Ten / Heaven. Tokyo: Creo, 2002. ISBN 4-87736-078-6
- Mukokuseki-chi / Stateless Land: 1954. Tokyo: Creo, 2004. ISBN 4-87736-097-2.
- Jikū no kagami / Mirror of space and time. Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 2004. ISBN 4-10-357502-6.
- En / En: Circular vision. Tokyo: Creo, 2004. ISBN 4-87736-102-2.
Other books with work by Narahara
- Hiraki, Osamu, and Keiichi Takeuchi. Japan, a Self-Portrait: Photographs 1945–1964. Paris: Flammarion, 2004. ISBN 2-08-030463-1 Also presents work by Ken DomonKen Domonis one of the most renowned Japanese photographers of the twentieth century. He is most celebrated as a photojournalist, though he may have been most prolific as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary....
, Hiroshi HamayaHiroshi Hamayawas a renowned Japanese photographer.-Books of Hamaya's works:*Senkō shashinjutsu . Ars Shashin Bunko. Tokyo: Ars, 1941.*Ura Nihon . Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1957.*Henkyō no machi . Sekai Shashinka Shirīzu. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1957....
, Tadahiko HayashiTadahiko Hayashiwas a Japanese photographer noted for a wide range of work including documentary and portraiture.-Youth and early career:...
, Eikō HosoeEikoh Hosoeis a Japanese photographer and filmmaker who emerged in the experimental arts movement of post-World War II Japan. He is known for his psychologically charged images, often exploring subjects such as death, erotic obsession, and irrationality...
, Yasuhiro IshimotoYasuhiro IshimotoIshimoto was born on 14 June 1921 in San Francisco, California, where his parents were farmers. In 1924, the family left the United States and returned to his parents' hometown within present-day Tosa, in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan...
, Kikuji KawadaKikuji Kawadais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Ihei KimuraIhei KimuraBorn on 12 December 1901 in Shitaya-ku , Tokyo, Kimura started taking photographs when very young but his interest intensified when he was around 20 and living in Tainan, Taiwan, where he was working for a sugar wholesaler. He opened a photographic studio in Nippori, Tokyo in 1924...
, Shigeichi NaganoShigeichi NaganoBorn on 30 March 1925 in Ōita City, Nagano studied economics at Keio University . On graduating, he joined a trading company, but soon resigned. He was recruited by Natori Yōnosuke for Weekly Sun News ; and in 1949 moved to Iwanami Shoten where, again under Natori, he did the photography for about...
, Takeyoshi TanumaTakeyoshi Tanumais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, and Shōmei TōmatsuShomei Tomatsuis a Japanese photographer.Born Teruaki Tōmatsu in Nagoya in 1930, Tōmatsu studied economics at Aichi University, graduating in 1954. While still a student, he had his photographs published by the major Japanese photography magazines. He entered Iwanami and worked on the series Iwanami Shashin Bunko...
. Nihon nūdo meisakushū . Camera Mainichi bessatsu. Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1982. Pp. 194–99 show nudes by Narahara. - Nihon shashin no tenkan: 1960 nendai no hyōgen / Innovation in Japanese Photography in the 1960s. Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1991. Exhibition catalogue, text in Japanese and English. Pp. 18–29 show a selection of Narahara's earlier work. (That on p. 23 is upside down, as pointed out in an erratum slip.)
- Shashin toshi Tōkyō (写真都市Tokyo) / Tokyo/City of Photos. Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995. Catalogue of an exhibition held in 1995. Also presents work by Takanobu HayashiTakanobu Hayashiis a Japanese photographer.Hayashi was born in Dalian, China, in 1946, but his family then quickly moved to Japan, first to Beppu and then to Kyoto. He worked in a darkroom for a year after graduating from high school, and in 1965 moved to Tokyo, where he studied at the Tokyo College of Photography...
, Hiroh KikaiHiroh Kikaiis a Japanese photographer best known within Japan for three series of monochrome photographs: scenes of buildings in and close to Tokyo, portraits of people in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, and rural and town life in India...
, Ryūji MiyamotoRyuji Miyamotois a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Daidō MoriyamaDaido Moriyamais a Japanese photographer noted for his images depicting the breakdown of traditional values in post-war Japan.- Life and career :Born in Ikeda, Osaka, Daidō Moriyama studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe...
, Shigeichi NaganoShigeichi NaganoBorn on 30 March 1925 in Ōita City, Nagano studied economics at Keio University . On graduating, he joined a trading company, but soon resigned. He was recruited by Natori Yōnosuke for Weekly Sun News ; and in 1949 moved to Iwanami Shoten where, again under Natori, he did the photography for about...
, Mitsugu ŌnishiMitsugu OnishiMitsugu Ōnishi is a Japanese photographer.Born in Tokyo, Ōnishi graduated from the Tokyo College of Photography in 1974, rejoining a year later as a teacher, and staying there in that capacity until 1994....
, Masato SetoMasato Seto-Biography:Seto was born in Udon Thani, Thailand, to a Japanese father and a Vietnamese Thai mother. He moved to Fukushima Prefecture, Japan in 1961, and studied photography at Tōkyō Shashin Senmon Gakkō , graduating in 1973. After further study under Daidō Moriyama, Seto became an assistant to...
, Issei SudaIssei Sudais a Japanese photographer.Born in Tokyo in 1940, Suda graduated from the Tokyo College of Photography in 1962. From 1967 to 1970 he worked as the cameraman of the theatrical group Tenjo Sajiki, under Shūji Terayama. He has worked as a freelance photographer since 1971. Suda is a professor at Osaka...
, Akihide TamuraAkihide Tamurais a Japanese photographer. He was born in Tokyo on 13 March 1947 as Shigeru Tamura . He studied at Tokyo College of Photography, graduating first in 1967 and then from a more advanced course two years later....
, Tokuko Ushioda, and Hiroshi Yamazaki. Captions and texts in both Japanese and English. - Yamagishi, Shoji, ed. Japan, a self-portrait. New York: International Center of Photography, 1979. ISBN 0933642016 (hard), ISBN 0933642024 paper). Also presents works by Ryōji AkiyamaRyoji Akiyamais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Nobuyoshi ArakiNobuyoshi Arakiis a Japanese photographer and contemporary artist. He is also known by the nickname .-Life and career:Araki was born in Tokyo, studied photography during his college years and then went to work at the advertising agency Dentsu, where he met his future wife, the essayist Yōko Araki...
, Taiji AritaTaiji Aritawas a Japanese commercial photographer. He exhibited non-commercial nudes and other work.-Life and career:Taiji Arita was born on January 31, 1941 in Kokura , Japan...
, Masahisa FukaseMasahisa Fukase, born 25 February 1934 in Hokkaidō, is a Japanese photographer.-Life:Among Fukase's early works was the "Kill the Pigs" concerning a slaughterhouse...
, Hiroshi HamayaHiroshi Hamayawas a renowned Japanese photographer.-Books of Hamaya's works:*Senkō shashinjutsu . Ars Shashin Bunko. Tokyo: Ars, 1941.*Ura Nihon . Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1957.*Henkyō no machi . Sekai Shashinka Shirīzu. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 1957....
, Shinzō HanabusaShinzo Hanabusais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Miyako IshiuchiMiyako Ishiuchi, is a renowned Japanese photographer.Ishiuchi has produced collections of photography since the late 1970s. Her first book was a study of Yokosuka, where she grew up....
, Kikuji KawadaKikuji Kawadais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Jun MorinagaJun Morinagais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:*Nihon shashinka jiten / 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers. Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8. Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese....
, Daidō MoriyamaDaido Moriyamais a Japanese photographer noted for his images depicting the breakdown of traditional values in post-war Japan.- Life and career :Born in Ikeda, Osaka, Daidō Moriyama studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe...
, Kishin ShinoyamaKishin Shinoyamais a Japanese photographer.Shinoyama graduated from Nihon University. He worked with the Light Publicity agency while still a student, and freelanced after graduation....
, Issei SudaIssei Sudais a Japanese photographer.Born in Tokyo in 1940, Suda graduated from the Tokyo College of Photography in 1962. From 1967 to 1970 he worked as the cameraman of the theatrical group Tenjo Sajiki, under Shūji Terayama. He has worked as a freelance photographer since 1971. Suda is a professor at Osaka...
, Shōmei TōmatsuShomei Tomatsuis a Japanese photographer.Born Teruaki Tōmatsu in Nagoya in 1930, Tōmatsu studied economics at Aichi University, graduating in 1954. While still a student, he had his photographs published by the major Japanese photography magazines. He entered Iwanami and worked on the series Iwanami Shashin Bunko...
, Haruo TomiyamaHaruo Tomiyamais a versatile Japanese photographer, active since the 1960s.-Life and work:Born in Kanda on 25 February 1935, Tomiyama dropped out of evening high school in 1956 to study photography for himself....
, Hiromi TsuchidaHiromi Tsuchidais a renowned Japanese photographer.Tsuchida has produced several collections of photographs of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He has produced many influential photo books such as Zokushin, counting the sand and new counting the sand and The Berlin Wall...
, Shōji UedaShoji UedaUeda was born on 27 March 1913 in Sakai , Tottori. His father was a manufacturer and seller of geta; Shōji was the only child who survived infancy...
, Gashō YamamuraGasho Yamamurawas a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, and Hiroshi Yamazaki. - Yamagishi, Shoji, and John Szarkowski, eds. New Japanese photography. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1974. ISBN 0-87070-503-2 (hard), ISBN 0-87070-503-2 (paper). Also presents work by Ryōji AkiyamaRyoji Akiyamais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Ken DomonKen Domonis one of the most renowned Japanese photographers of the twentieth century. He is most celebrated as a photojournalist, though he may have been most prolific as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary....
, Eikō HosoeEikoh Hosoeis a Japanese photographer and filmmaker who emerged in the experimental arts movement of post-World War II Japan. He is known for his psychologically charged images, often exploring subjects such as death, erotic obsession, and irrationality...
, Masahisa FukaseMasahisa Fukase, born 25 February 1934 in Hokkaidō, is a Japanese photographer.-Life:Among Fukase's early works was the "Kill the Pigs" concerning a slaughterhouse...
, Tetsuya IchimuraTetsuya IchimuraIchimura was born, with the family name Hamaguchi, in Nagasaki on 10 June 1930. As a young adult Ichimura moved to Tokyo, where he studied for a year at Nihon University, took various jobs, and chanced to meet Shōtarō Akiyama, who aroused his interest in photography....
, Yasuhiro IshimotoYasuhiro IshimotoIshimoto was born on 14 June 1921 in San Francisco, California, where his parents were farmers. In 1924, the family left the United States and returned to his parents' hometown within present-day Tosa, in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan...
, Bishin JūmonjiBishin Jumonjiis a photographer who has done advertising, portrait, architectural, and other work.Jumonji was born in Yokohama on 4 March 1947. After studying at the Tokyo College of Photography he worked as an assistant to Kishin Shinoyama and went freelance in 1971, when he was the cameraman for advertisements...
, Kikuji KawadaKikuji Kawadais a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Daidō MoriyamaDaido Moriyamais a Japanese photographer noted for his images depicting the breakdown of traditional values in post-war Japan.- Life and career :Born in Ikeda, Osaka, Daidō Moriyama studied photography under Takeji Iwamiya before moving to Tokyo in 1961 to work as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe...
, Masatoshi NaitōMasatoshi Naitois a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, Ken OharaKen Oharais a renowned Japanese photographer.Ohara Ken is most noted for his series of photographs titled "One", in which he presents faces with a standard size and tone....
, Akihide TamuraAkihide Tamurais a Japanese photographer. He was born in Tokyo on 13 March 1947 as Shigeru Tamura . He studied at Tokyo College of Photography, graduating first in 1967 and then from a more advanced course two years later....
(as Shigeru Tamura), Shōmei TōmatsuShomei Tomatsuis a Japanese photographer.Born Teruaki Tōmatsu in Nagoya in 1930, Tōmatsu studied economics at Aichi University, graduating in 1954. While still a student, he had his photographs published by the major Japanese photography magazines. He entered Iwanami and worked on the series Iwanami Shashin Bunko...
, and Hiromi TsuchidaHiromi Tsuchidais a renowned Japanese photographer.Tsuchida has produced several collections of photographs of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He has produced many influential photo books such as Zokushin, counting the sand and new counting the sand and The Berlin Wall...
.
Sources
- Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. The History of Japanese Photography. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-300-09925-8.
External links
- Narahara comments on En, and on his photography in general. Narahara's CV at Fuji Film Interview with Narahara Nihon shashinka jiten (『日本写真家事典』, 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8