Japan Exposures would like to express their sincere appreciation to the following individuals for their contributions to the site. We are very grateful that others share our enthusiasm for Japanese photography and make the effort to express this in writing for us to share with the rest of the world. Thank you. Dan Abbe lives in … Continue reading Contributors
Ivan Vartanian is an author, editor, and book producer based in Tokyo since 1997 — his company is Goliga Books. I recently sat down with Ivan in Harajuku to talk about his latest books and ask him about his other publications over the last few years.
In Toshio Enomoto’s series Arlequin we can see a beautiful, present-day version of the classic circus right here in the heart of Japan. Arlequin is the French word for clown or jester; sometimes also written harlequin. At first glance, it’s hard to tell when these photographs were taken. It turns out that Arlequin, photographs of the Kigure Circus, consist of various images between 1998 and 2008, much later than I had originally assumed. Shot with either a Hasselblad or Mamiya 6, these timeless square B&W prints could easily have been from the 1950s, 60s or 70s.
If you want to take a weekend afternoon to hit one of the best off-the-beaten-path photo spaces while you’re here, one that greets you with a smile, talks with you like you’re an old friend and maybe even stuffs a few extra post cards in your pocket as you’re leaving…you should definitely try to find gallery KAIDO.
