Creator
Daido Moriyama
Title
Nippon Gekijo Shashincho (Japan: A Photo Theater).
Coverage
Tokyo
Publisher
Muromachi Shobo
Date
1968
Subject
8 1/4 x 8 5/8 in., softcover in cardboard slipcase, green textured cover, tan endpapers, unpaginated, signed in ink by Moriyama on front free endpaper. With text by poet and playwright Shuji Terayama.
Description
Moriyama’s first published book showcasing his signature are-bure-boke (grainy, blurry, out-of-focus) style of subjects including Tokyo street scenes, portraits, and avant-garde and Kabuki theater performers.
I first saw a copy of this book, as well as other Japanese photobooks and photographs at a gallery exhibition in 2002 that began my exploration and obsession with this ground-breaking genre. The subject matter, photographic techniques, and book designs continue to surprise and keeps me seeking out work from Japan.
Relation
From the collection of Jeffrey Gutterman