NEWSWORTHY

Pure Land Buddhism and the art of photography

Jul 5, 2018

Pure Land Buddhism and the art of photography

by Katherine Whatley

Follow the Sumida River southwest from Asakusa and you'll soon reach Kuramae, an old working-class neighborhood filled with small factories, wholesale shops and temples. The area is changing, though, with single origin coffee roasters and stores selling imported pottery sprouting up next to mom-and-pop ...

Kyotographie is still on the up and up

Apr 10, 2018

Kyotographie is still on the up and up

by Matthew Larking

The sixth edition of Kyotographie, Kyoto's annual celebration of local and international photography, which opens in venues across the city on April 14, is titled "Up." This year, the collection of exhibitions address France-Japan relations: the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations ...

Photos highlight the everyday lives of prisoners in Japan

Mar 29, 2018

Photos highlight the everyday lives of prisoners in Japan

by Keiji Hirano

A week-long photo exhibition being held next month will aim to shed light on the everyday lives of inmates of Japanese prisons and promote public awareness about the challenges the country's criminal justice system faces. Around 60 photos, which were taken by six photography majors ...

Michiko Kon: Mistress of the dark

Mar 27, 2018

Michiko Kon: Mistress of the dark

by John L. Tran

The abominable beauty of Michiko Kon's work is back. In the early 1990s Kon was one of the first female photographic artists from Japan to achieve widespread international recognition. Her work combined a shocking use of animal parts with meticulous technique in a way that ...

Koga: A pithy affair with the avant-garde

Mar 20, 2018

Koga: A pithy affair with the avant-garde

by John L. Tran

There are two good reasons to see the exhibition on the short-lived photography magazine Koga, now on at the Tokyo Photographic Art (TOP) Museum. One is that it is full of powerful images that will linger in the memory despite their relative simplicity. The ...

Picturing Okinawa: The black and white of cultural identity

Mar 11, 2018

Picturing Okinawa: The black and white of cultural identity

by Stephen Mansfield

Tracing the history of Okinawa as it is represented in the differing genres of experimental, documentary and portrait photography, inevitably leads to the abiding themes of identity, ethnicity and political posture. Located on the outer periphery of the nation, Okinawa, a garrison island where people ...