Meanwhile, I guess the reason why the Wikipedia page on Kurata is relatively sparse is the same reason that the Wikipedia page on just about every photographer is sparse: few people want to spare the time and energy needed to hunt for reliable sources from which to write these people up. Any reader of this site is of course welcome to add stuff from reliable sources about Kurata’s post-1999 exhibitions (a very quick bit of googling mostly brings the expected mentions in blogs; these wouldn’t be usable), or improve articles that are even worse (e.g. that on Fukase, and there are dozens if not hundreds like it), or to write articles on people who have none (and there are even Magnum photographers with no articles).

Back to more or less present-day Japan (aside from its old geezers). Slowly Down the River does look interesting; it’s on my “to look for” list. Certainly good new work is still coming out, even though the publishers are hurting.

As for the question of how this series plays abroad, I can’t help but feel that, like say Tomoko Sawada’s work, it’s the kind of work curators and blurb writers feel the necessity to contextualize for a non-Japanese audience. Not saying that’s a necessarily bad thing or a knock on the work, but it is an interesting question. Given the global currency that “Japanese photography” has these days (yes, this site itself is (a small) part of that), I wonder if photographers are increasingly conscious of how their work plays abroad and whether the work will get tailored somehow to be “readable” at home and abroad.

As for Seiji Kurata and “that was back then; this is now”, the amount of times you mention him here Peter, I’m surprised he hasn’t won another Kimura Prize And how about a Peter Evans Prize? Instead of whining about the undeserved recipients of the other prizes, you could be bestowing your own Prize to all that unfriendly, offensive, low-concept unwhimsical work you cherish.

Even looking at the first print, I couldn’t process the image properly. Why was it so big?

1. “High concept” likes big. (Alternatively, very small.)

2. Very Big Prints are associated with Very High Prices. Sound business decision there.

It’s nice to see this kind of approach to photography get some recognition (although the Kimura award was a bit much…).

It’s amiable, inoffensive, high-concept whimsy: just what the judges of the Kimura prize go for. That’s when they’re not giving it to lomography of the photographer’s pooch or breakfast. (Oh yes, the prize used to go to people like Kurata Seiji. But that was back then; this is now.)

Do you mean:

That’s a great point. Could I be more likely to respond negatively　 to this work because of my callous American upbringing?

?

That’s a great point. Could I be more likely to respond positively to this work because of my callous American upbringing?

In the end I think that the seemingly utter lack of Snark or Irony in Japanese society allows this kind of sweet work to be taken seriously- it’s like the variety TV shows on in the evenings- everyone’s just having a great old time together. It’s nice to see this kind of approach to photography get some recognition (although the Kimura award was a bit much…).

There plenty of others in the book that don’t require any special knowledge of Japan to be grasped – Asadas as bakers, as auto mechanics, as firefighters and so on. You’d definitely have to know the conceit of the series for it to be effective, but I think the humor should be transmittable to an audience outside of Japan.

All camera nerdiness aside, I wonder how well this series could play outside of Japan?