{"id":60,"date":"2020-11-16T01:37:05","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T06:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/?page_id=60"},"modified":"2021-01-07T15:08:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T20:08:21","slug":"tomatsu-shomei","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/tomatsu-shomei\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei \u6771\u677e\u7167\u660e\u2013\u2013Intimate Framing and Emblematic Moment"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most influential figures in postwar Japanese photography, T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei \u6771\u677e\u7167\u660e (1930-2012) produced highly idiosyncratic photographs pertaining to the collective social experiences of postwar Japan. Two major threads of T\u014dmatsu\u2019s works are the aftermath of World War II in Japan and the process of Americanization along with modernization during and following the years of the American occupation of Japan. The two photographs on display in this section deal with the aforementioned two themes, respectively. The photograph of the scarred face of a nuclear bomb survivor investigates the enduring effect of a traumatic event during the war, and the other photograph of two chindoya <\/em>performers reflects upon the ambiguous relationship between Japanese and Western cultures during the rapid process of Westernization in the postwar era.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Nagoya in 1930, T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei came of age in the 1950s when the defeat of Japan in WWII and the American occupation brought about dramatic changes and cultural shock among Japanese people.[1]<\/a> For T\u014dmatsu, photography capable of faithfully \u201creproducing\u201d reality provided him something to cling upon during this time of dismay: \u201cAs our defeat marked a turning point, traditional values were completely altered and the reality of life quickly changed. I lost my belief in everything. The only things that I believed in were the things I could touch and the thing that I saw with my own eyes. Before long, I encountered a camera and became fascinated with photography.\u201d[2]<\/a> The experience of the immediate postwar period significantly shaped T\u014dmatsu\u2019s photographic practices throughout his career.[3]<\/a> Though some may consider his works something similar to reportage photography, T\u014dmatsu demonstrated a mind and a style that moved beyond wartime reportage since the early stage of his career. In 1960, in response to photographer Natori Y\u014dnosuke\u2019s \u540d\u53d6\u6d0b\u4e4b\u52a9 (1910\u20131962) accusation of abandoning Photojournalism\u2019s principle of respecting the time and location of the subject matter, T\u014dmatsu responded by refuting the established idea of \u201cPhotojournalism\u201d that, in his opinion, would ossify the development of Japanese photography.[4]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Through devices such as framing, settings of exposure and aperture, printing techniques, and symbolism, T\u014dmatsu invited the viewers to probe into the ambiguous relationship between Japan\u2019s entwined past and present via seemingly trivial fragments of everyday scenes. As he stated about the common scenes of his hometown Nagoya in the early 1950s, these commonplace moments \u201coverlapped with Japan\u2019s postwar history like a double exposure.\u201d [5]<\/a> Representative of T\u014dmatsu\u2019s style, the two photographs exhibited in this section feature fragmented, intimate views of individual faces, which ultimately become provoking emblems of specific moments in Japanese history through the mediation of T\u014dmatsu\u2019s tactful pictorial strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

EXPLORE THIS SECTION<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Object<\/p>\n

Untitled<\/em><\/a><\/span>,<\/a><\/span> from <\/a><\/span>the series <\/a><\/span>11:02<\/em><\/a><\/span>, Nagasaki, 1962, printed 198<\/a><\/span>8<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sandwich Men<\/em><\/a><\/span> (<\/a><\/span>Chindonya<\/em><\/a><\/span> 4),<\/a><\/span> Tok<\/a><\/span>yo,<\/a><\/span> 1961, printed 1988<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei, \u201cToward a chaotic sea,\u201d in Ivan Vartanian, Akihiro Hatanaka, and Yutaka Kambayashi, eds. Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers <\/em>(New York: Aperture, 2006), 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei, \u201cToward a chaotic sea,\u201d 30.<\/span><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei, Artist Talk at Aperture Foundation, New York, May 20, 2014. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?list=PLcHpvq5UHCxy-TXXoi12GxP1fcvlqkO9t&v=Ge6J3kZ9PL4.<\/span><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Natori Y\u014dnosuke, \u201cAtarashii shashin no tanjy\u014d\u201d \u65b0\u3057\u3044\u5199\u771f\u306e\u8a95\u751f (The birth of new photography), Asahi Kamera<\/em> (October 1960). T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei, \u201cBoku wa Natorishi ni hanronsuru\u201d \u50d5\u306f\u540d\u53d6\u6c0f\u306b\u53cd\u8ad6\u3059\u308b (I refute Mr. Natori), Asahi Kamera<\/em> (November 1960), 156.<\/span><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei, \u201cToward a chaotic sea,\u201d in Ivan Vartanian, Akihiro Hatanaka, and Yutaka Kambayashi, eds. Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers <\/em>(New York: Aperture, 2006), 30.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most influential figures in postwar Japanese photography, T\u014dmatsu Sh\u014dmei \u6771\u677e\u7167\u660e (1930-2012) produced highly idiosyncratic photographs pertaining to the collective social experiences of postwar Japan. Two major threads of T\u014dmatsu\u2019s works are the aftermath of World War II in Japan and the process of Americanization along with modernization during and following the years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3443,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-60","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60"}],"version-history":[{"count":41,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":403,"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/60\/revisions\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.princeton.edu\/art574-yixu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}