Daido Moriyama

An anthology of the four seminal photobooks that form the foundation of Daido Moriyama's photographic career: Japan, A Photo Theater, A Hunter, Farewell Photography and Light and Shadow. Once regarded as the most challenging and radical of the photographers to emerge from Japan in the post-war period, Daido Moriyama is now accepted as an international figure. His stream of publications, most notably his ongoing magazine Record, have enabled his original vision, born out of the backstreets of Tokyo, to be cast worldwide. In this anthology, renowned author, curator and editor Mark Holborn presents the four books that underpin Moriyama's artistic journey, with the photobook at the very core of his creative practice. The featured photobooks - Japan, A Photo Theater, A Hunter, Farewell Photography and Light and Shadow - span the fifteen years during which Moriyama honed his techniques and unveiled his distinctive vision and stand as exemplars of some of the most daring photographic publishing ventures in the history of the medium. Rooted in the complexities of Japan during a transformative era from 1968 to the early 1980s, they offer profound insights into the country's evolving landscape. Harmonizing seamlessly with Moriyama's own aesthetic sensibilities, the book's design includes excerpts from Moriyama's diaries, journals and memoranda, providing intimate glimpses into his creative process. As with all Moriyama publications, this photobook is eagerly anticipated by a devoted following, reflecting the enduring importance of his work.

Widely considered Japan's most influential and prolific photographer, Daido Moriyama has been challenging conventions of the art form for more than a half century. This exhaustive and electrifying retrospective, published in cooperation with the Daido Moriyama Foundation and based on entirely new research, looks at every stage of Moriyama's extensive career, including his extraordinary images as well as his conceptual contributions to photography. One of a generation of postwar Japan's groundbreaking artists, Moriyama has continually established his own visual grammar. This book features more than 250 chronologically arranged images that reveal his constantly evolving career: his early editorial work of the mid-1960s, focused on the American occupation and the experimental theater; his radical experimentation of late 1960s and the 1970s; the self-reflexive photos of the 1980s and 1990s; and his ongoing exploration of cities, among other relevant moments. It also includes more than 400 spread reproductions of Moriyama's rarely seen publications, mapping the sources of his visual production. Rounding out the volume are texts by the editor and leading Japanese scholars, a personal essay by the artist, and a full chronology of his life and work. Accompanying a major exhibition on Moriyama's output, this impressive volume reframes Moriyama's legacy and is certain to become the definitive publication on his work.

Take an inspiring walk with legendary photographer Daido Moriyama while he explains his groundbreaking approach to street photography. For over half a century, Moriyama has provided a distinct vision of Japan and its people. Here he offers a unique opportunity for fans to learn about his methods, the cameras he uses, and the journeys he takes with a camera.

Inspired by the work of an earlier generation of Japanese photographers, especially by Shomei Tomatsu, and by William Klein’s seminal photographic book on New York, Daido Moriyama moved from Osaka to Tokyo in the early sixties to become a photographer. He became the leading exponent of a fierce new photographic style that corresponded perfectly to the abrasive and intense climate of Tokyo during a period of great social upheaval. His black and white pictures were marked by fierce contrast and fragmentary, even scratched, frames, which concealed his virtuoso printing. Between June 1972 and July 1973 he produced his own magazine publication, Kiroku, which was then referred to as Record. It became a diaristic journal of his work as it developed. Ten years ago he was able to resume publication of Record, which gradually expanded in extent. To date he has published thirty issues, a number of them including colour. The publication of Recordas a book enables work from all thirty issues to be edited into a single sequence, punctuated by Moriyama’s own text as it appeared in the magazines. It used to be assumed that Moriyama’s peculiarly Japanese style was tied to his Tokyo roots. The evidence of the last ten years demonstrates that Moriyama, a restless world traveller, has been able to apply his unique vision to northern Europe, southern France, the cities of Florence, London, Barcelona, Taipei, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles as well as to the alleys of Osaka, and the landscape of Hokkaido. The book ends in Afghanistan. Table of Contents Introduction: The Headlights in My Eyes by Mark Holborn • Record