Shoji Otake
Encyclopedia
__notoc__ is a Japan
ese photographer famous for portraits and nudes.
Ōtake was born in Yokosuka (which later became Ōsuka
, then Kakegawa
), Shizuoka
on 15 May 1920, the oldest son of a father who worked in the sake industry and a mother who performed on the koto
and (transverse) flute
. The boy's mother died when he was six, and he moved to the house of his father's elder sister, his younger brother moved to another house, both in Yokosuka, while his father tried and failed in the transportation industry and quickly moved to Tokyo
. A year later, the boy moved to the house of a rich family, still in Yokosuka. He started at school, quickly showing an aptitude for drawing, gaining a special mention in a national contest.
Shōji moved to Tokyo
with his father in 1928, living in Nippori with his father's new wife. He became a keen photographer when very young.
Ōtake joined the army, but was able to work as a photographer. In 1947 he managed to attach himself to GHQ
, for which he photographed singers and actresses at the Ernie Pyle Theatre. From 1949 he became involved in a succession of photographic organizations, as he continued work as a photojournalist. Starting in 1951, he spent five years photographing classical and other musicians from around the world during their stays in Japan; these photographs were published in Asahi Camera
and in 1955 were collected in the highly praised book World Musicians. He was also publishing nude photographs in the magazines Camera
and Photo Art.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, Ōtake moved to become the top photographer of women in Japan. For five years from 1971, Ōtake photographed housewives and "OL
" nude (sometimes together with their babies or small children, also nude) on Nippon Television
; this work too was later collected into books.
By the 1980s, Ōtake's fame and commercial success as a portraitist and photographer of nudes had eclipsed his earlier and very different work. Republication within the volume dedicated to him of the series "Shōwa Shashin Zenshigoto" (1982), and the publication the following year of Haruka naru uta, brought it great acclaim.
Besides photography, Ōtake has also worked as television screenwriter and an essayist. As a photographer, he has remained active in his late 80s.
Among the photographers who have trained under Ōtake are Mineko Orisaku and Sanae Numata.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese photographer famous for portraits and nudes.
Ōtake was born in Yokosuka (which later became Ōsuka
Osuka, Shizuoka
was a town located in Ogasa District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.On April 1, 2005 Ōsuka, along with the town of Daitō, also from Ogasa District, was merged into the city of Kakegawa....
, then Kakegawa
Kakegawa, Shizuoka
is a city in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the city had an estimated population of 117,858 and a population density of 444 persons per km². The total area was 265.63 km².-Geography:...
), Shizuoka
Shizuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun...
on 15 May 1920, the oldest son of a father who worked in the sake industry and a mother who performed on the koto
Koto (musical instrument)
The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
and (transverse) flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
. The boy's mother died when he was six, and he moved to the house of his father's elder sister, his younger brother moved to another house, both in Yokosuka, while his father tried and failed in the transportation industry and quickly moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. A year later, the boy moved to the house of a rich family, still in Yokosuka. He started at school, quickly showing an aptitude for drawing, gaining a special mention in a national contest.
Shōji moved to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
with his father in 1928, living in Nippori with his father's new wife. He became a keen photographer when very young.
Ōtake joined the army, but was able to work as a photographer. In 1947 he managed to attach himself to GHQ
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
, for which he photographed singers and actresses at the Ernie Pyle Theatre. From 1949 he became involved in a succession of photographic organizations, as he continued work as a photojournalist. Starting in 1951, he spent five years photographing classical and other musicians from around the world during their stays in Japan; these photographs were published in Asahi Camera
Asahi Camera
is a Japanese monthly photographic magazine.The first issue was that for April 1926. It has from the outset been published by Asahi Shinbun-sha, publisher of the newspaper Asahi Shinbun....
and in 1955 were collected in the highly praised book World Musicians. He was also publishing nude photographs in the magazines Camera
Camera (Japanese magazine)
, or Ars Camera , Arusu Kamera), is one of the older and longer running of Japanese camera magazines. It was published by the company Ars.The first issue of Ars Camera is dated April 1921: predating Asahi Camera by five years...
and Photo Art.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, Ōtake moved to become the top photographer of women in Japan. For five years from 1971, Ōtake photographed housewives and "OL
Office lady
An office lady, often abbreviated OL , is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink collar tasks such as serving tea and secretarial or clerical work. Like many unmarried Japanese, OLs often live with their parents well into early adulthood...
" nude (sometimes together with their babies or small children, also nude) on Nippon Television
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
; this work too was later collected into books.
By the 1980s, Ōtake's fame and commercial success as a portraitist and photographer of nudes had eclipsed his earlier and very different work. Republication within the volume dedicated to him of the series "Shōwa Shashin Zenshigoto" (1982), and the publication the following year of Haruka naru uta, brought it great acclaim.
Besides photography, Ōtake has also worked as television screenwriter and an essayist. As a photographer, he has remained active in his late 80s.
Among the photographers who have trained under Ōtake are Mineko Orisaku and Sanae Numata.
Books devoted to Ōtake's work
- Sekai no ongakuka / World Musicians. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1955.
- Onna no naka no onna . Tokyo: Geibunsha, 1969.
- Janetto Janet. Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 1974.
- Teru hi kumoru hi . Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 1976.
- Famirī nūdo . Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1977.
- Sekai no ongakuka / Musicians of the World. Sonorama Shashin Sensho 18. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1979.
- Ōtake Shōji . Shōwa Shashin Zenshigoto 4. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1982. A survey of Ōtake's career, interspersed with interviews, essays, etc.
- "Onna" 101 nin no shōzō . Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1982.
- Haruka naru uta . Tokyo: Kirihara Shoten, 1983. A collection of Ōtake's early work.
- Ranjuku no gogatsu midori . Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1983. ISBN 4-06-100203-1.
- Onna no te ga himitsu o kataru: Boku no tesō tanbōki . Wani no Hon. Tokyo: Besutoserāzu, 1984. ISBN 4-584-00560-5.
- Hana nareba: Razō . Nihon Geijutsu Shuppansha, 1985.
- Shōji Ōtake kansō jinsei taidan: Bijo to binan ni zūmuin . Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1985. ISBN 4-06-201691-5.
- Josei shashin seminā-shū . Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 1989. ISBN 4-8179-3007-1.
- Shōji Ōtake sakuhinshū: Haruka naru uta . JCII Photo Salon Library 8. Tokyo: JCII Photo Salon, 1991. Exhibition catalogue.
- Asakura Miki / Si. 1993. Photo book of the singer . Tokyo: Sukora, 1993. ISBN 4-7962-0111-4.
- Shinpen Haruka naru uta . Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 1993. ISBN 4-8179-2022-X.
- Shōjo Ami / Ami Yamazaki. Tokyo: Tatsumi Shuppan, 1993. ISBN 4886410758. Nude photos of (then around 13).
- Sasurai hana . Photo book of the singer . Take Shobō, 1994. ISBN 4884752929.
- Shōji Ōtake sakuhinshū: Shōwa gunzō . JCII Photo Salon Library 75. Tokyo: JCII Photo Salon, 1997. Exhibition catalogue.
- Shōwa gunzō Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 1997. ISBN 4-8179-2045-9. A collection of Ōtake's black and white portraits from the 1950s to the 1980s, with an emphasis on earlier material.
- Shōji Ōtake no "renzu kansōgaku": Raika renzu to kōseiha renzu . Supplement to Asahi CameraAsahi Camerais a Japanese monthly photographic magazine.The first issue was that for April 1926. It has from the outset been published by Asahi Shinbun-sha, publisher of the newspaper Asahi Shinbun....
, December 1998. - Haruka naru kagami: Aru shashinka no shōgen . Tokyo: Tōkyō Shinbun Shuppankyoku, 1998. ISBN 4-8083-0643-3.
- Haruka naru kagami: Shashin de tsuzuru haisen-Nihon hiwa . Chūō Bunko. Tokyo: Chūō-Kōron-sha, 2000. ISBN 4-12-203679-8.
- Jidai no kao . Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2002. Portraits.
- Akasaka Hinokichō Tekisasu Hausu . Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2006. ISBN 4-02-250083-2. Text and photographs by Ōtake, who looks back at his time with the television and other stars of the 1960s in an AsakusaAkasaka, Tokyois a residential and commercial district of Minato, Tokyo, located west of the government center in Nagatachō and north of the Roppongi nightlife district....
apartment dubbed Texas House. - Ōtake Shōji no renzu kansōgaku: Kyōrikei-yō renzu hen . Kurashikku Kamera Sensho 37. Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 2006. ISBN 4-257-12047-9.
Other books showing Ōtake's work
- Nihon nūdo meisakushū . Camera Mainichi bessatsu. Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1982. Pp. 126–29 show nudes by Ōtake, 1949–61.
- Shashinka wa nani o hyōgen shita ka: 1945–1960 . Tokyo: Konica Plaza, 1991. Pp. 70–71 show three portraits of musicians by Ōtake.
Sources
- Jinbō Kyōko . "Ōtake Shōji". Nihon shashinka jiten / 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers. Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8. P.71. Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese.
- "Nenpu" . Ōtake Shōji . Shōwa Shashin Zenshigoto 4. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1982. Pp. 158–59.
External links
- Ono, Philbert. "Otake Shoji". PhotoGuide Japan. A very brief biography.
- Ōtake photographs at Fujifilm. Click on a photograph's caption to see it enlarged.
- Biographical information at Fujifilm.