Seventeen (17歳), by George Hashiguchi
Pub. by Kadokawa Shoten, 1998
ISBN: 404851122X
Original Cost: ¥2,800
Japan Exposures Price: ¥1,490 SOLD

Photographer
George Hashiguchi’s portrait collections are so ubiquitous to the point where you may actually be inclined to think he was a hack, churning out book after book like he was a professional cat photographer. It must be said that Hashiguchi hasn’t necessarily helped himself in this regard, since most of his portrait projects — senior citizens, couples, fathers, workers, and 17-year olds like we have here — all follow roughly the same formula: a very specific group of people, full body portraits in black and white, an accompanying page of text featuring the same type of questionairre presentation (eg. the subject’s favorite music, what they ate for breakfast, how much their monthly allowance is) along with a paragraph or two of commentary from each subject. However, like more famous typologists, this standardization goes a long way toward highlighting the individual idiosyncracies of the subjects and countering what could be mistaken for homogeneity.

Description
Portraits done across Japan of 17-year olds, this is a republished version of Hashiguchi’s “Seventeen’s Map” which was published in 1988 (cue obligatory Parr/Badger reference — Volume 2, p. 300), with all the same portraits and text but different sequencing. Hashiguchi traveled throughout Japan with the very specific intention of taking portraits of people who were 17 years old at the time of shooting. According to Hashiguchi, he didn’t care who his models were, as long as they were 17. He also included in the book every single person he photographed, choosing not to edit out any of the subjects.

Hashiguchi (writing 20 years later) says, “These 17 year olds were all reall very different. These were ordinary high school students, and students whose hearts were engaged in activities outside school. There were 17-year olds who were already working, and those who were devoting themselves to art. All sharing this space of “Japan today,” all breathing the same air, these 17-year olds were yet so different, thinking such various thoughts.”

Condition
No problems at all, some minor sunning of dust cover and page edges is about all one can say bad about this copy. A good, used copy.

Valuation
Well, the original 1988 publication can go anywhere from $200 to $750 depending on condition and whether it’s signed or not, no doubt because it was included in you-know-what.

Goes well with…
If you’re intrigued by this book, you might be interested in the other Hashiguchi books we have in the bookstore, including a completely new book on 17-year olds, 17: 2001-2006, which has the added benefit of accompanying English text.

If you’re interested in obtaining a reasonably-priced copy of the original 1988 “Seventeen’s Map”, please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do for you.

Details
Hardcover. 22cm x 15cm. 1st edition, 1st printing (1998 version). 200 pages, approx. 95 b/w photos. Available here SOLD.

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Rickshaw Driver, Ginza,Tokyo, 1938. Photograph by Hiroshi Hamaya

Review by Lars Epstein for Japan Exposures.

The photographer Hiroshi Hamaya (1915-1999) was only 16 years old when in 1931, with his then-new Leica camera, he took the oldest of the pictures displayed in the photographic exhibition “Tokyo Stories”, which opened at the Kulturhuset (House of Culture) in Stockholm on March 6th. Hiroshi Hamaya was the youngest and perhaps the first Leica owner in Japan (the Leica appeared in 1929), according to Marc Feustel of Studio Equis in Paris, which has produced an exhibition which provides a composite picture of Tokyo’s development from the pre-World War II period to the super-modern society it is today. In addition to images by Hiroshi Hamaya, documentary photographs by Tadahiko Hayashi (1918-1990) and Shigeichi Nagano (born 1925) are also on display.

Curator Marc Feustel with a photograph by Tadahiko Hayashi in the background.

Hiroshi Hamaya (who received the Swedish Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography in 1987) strolled around in Tokyo with his camera in the 1930s and took a kind of “westernized” pictures, although he had no contact whatsoever with western photography. He documented a traditional Japan with geishas, rikschaw drivers and fortune-tellers, but also the emerging modernity of the city, and always with nerve and empathy.

Mother and children in a war-devastated area, Tokyo, 1947. Photography by Tadahiko Hayashi.

“Shigeichi Nagano’s photographs, also never shown before in Sweden, depict the emergence of modern Tokyo”

Tadahiko Hayashi’s images, never previously exhibited in Sweden, focus on the period just after the Second World War when Tokyo was in ruins and misery and poverty was widespread in the city. They form a deeply moving document of this period in Tokyo’s development. Shigeichi Nagano’s photographs, also never shown before in Sweden, depict the emergence of modern Tokyo, with students protests and the new emerging management philosophy.

Tokyo, 1995. Photography by Shigeichi Nagano.

The famous Swedish photographer Anders Petersen is a great friend of Japanese photography. He inaugurated the exhibition and expressed his delight that we now in Sweden have the opportunity to see some of the rich Japanese photographic tradition that foreshadowed photography giants such as Daido Moriyama and all his followers. You just have to agree with Anders Petersen. Those who miss this exhibition only have themselves to blame. The exhibition continues until May 2.

Anders Petersen inaugurates Tokyo Stories at Kulturhuset.

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“The case looks absolutely fantastic!!”

Customer who purchased the TX-1 case, from Hong Kong

The irreplaceable aspect of a skilled craftsman is that unlike a machine in a factory, he can do things for you that are special and usually not available. Mr Hirano, the manufacturer of our range of beautiful handmade camera cases, is able to design a camera case for a classic camera even though it is not usually in the range of products. For that however, we need a sample camera to model the case so we are always on the lookout for new cameras that would benefit from a case.

These camera cases handmade by an artisan, one by one, in the old center of Tokyo. Their quality and feel are extraordinary; “Perfume of REAL leather, high quality finish and stitching” writes one satisfied customer.

A unique feature of this case is that the strap attaches to the case, not to the camera as with most other cases. This case effectively cradles your camera safely and gently, safeguarding your investment.

Enjoy. Camera.

PS: Our online stores now have an RSS Feed for latest additions to the product catalogue. Please find it here for the Shop and here for the Book Store.

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Masahito Agake was born in Tokyo in 1969, and works professionally as an architect. In the early 90s Agake began shooting casually while scuba diving, and after coming across the work of Aleksandr Rodchenko and W. Eugene Smith in 1996, he took up photography more seriously. He had his first exhibition at Tokyo’s Place M gallery in 2003, and since then has exhibited his work in different galleries in Tokyo. Most recently he has been exhibiting his work at Third District Gallery in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Please also see a gallery of Agake’s recent work shot in Tokyo and Taiwan.

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Photography in the streets and public is by now an established genre, yet the world we have created around us and enter with confidence on a daily basis remains a mystery beckoning visual exploration. A photographer’s mission is to peer into the cracks that give entry to another world, a universe that is not usually seen and often times we don’t care to see.

Masahito Agake is one more hunter and watcher who is ready to capture these seams in our reality when they become apparent. While some may dismiss his visions as “nothing new”, once you take your time with the material there is a detectable addition of his own views. Photos from Japan and Taiwan blend into each other, connecting dots of universality that are often glossed over. In his photography he uses digital techniques to add an intriguing textural glow and shimmer to the images, which in my view add an incentive for repeated viewing to the photographs. While this may not be to everyone’s taste, we encourage you to not look just once.

Masahito Agake was born in Tokyo in 1969, and works professionally as an architect. In the early 90s Agake began shooting casually while scuba diving, and after coming across the work of Aleksandr Rodchenko and W. Eugene Smith in 1996, he took up photography more seriously. He had his first exhibition at Tokyo’s Place M gallery in 2003, and since then has exhibited his work in different galleries in Tokyo. Most recently he has been exhibiting his work at Third District Gallery in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

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So, taking a page from Japan Exposures Exotica, where we sell different cameras and such that we pick up here and there, we’re going to start doing something similar with books. On a regular basis we’ll be putting up a book or two in the store. These books will be — as the saying goes — priced to sell. Think of them as “real books for real people at real prices” or something like that.

We’re starting off with one of Nobuyoshi Araki’s 450 (or whatever it’s up to now) photo books, published in 1995 and in very nice condition, the obi intact, etc.

“A” Diary (A日記), by Nobuyoshi Araki
Pub. by Libroport, 1995
ISBN: 484570997X
Original Cost: ¥4,944
Japan Exposures Price: ¥3,990  SOLD

Description
A diaristic record of 1995, in chronological order — or so you would think (more on that in a moment). Photos are in panoramic format, and all are taken with date imprinting. Most pages feature two photos on a page, so this book is jam-packed with candid photos from just about every day of the year. All photos are in color, and every page is full bleed. Robert Frank and Nan Goldin put in appearances, as does Araki himself. And many, many models. Many of those models are, surprise, naked, but this is not one of those books. There is a short essay — Japanese only — by someone with the last name of Ito at the back of the book.

The book was published in March of 1995, leading quickly to the WTF? realization that your looking at a record of 1995 that was published at the beginning of 1995. The essay in the back explains that from 1981 to 1995, using a camera that had a date imprinting back, Araki would play with the dial while shooting, so that pictures even on the same roll might have wildly varying dates imprinted on them. (In his first book to feature photos with date imprinting, Pseudo Diary (1980), Araki used dates like April 1 (April Fools Day) and August 6 and 9 (the days the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively) to highlight the pseudo-ness of the diary.)

According to the book’s essay, from the massive collection of date-imprinted photos, Araki and his editors assembled a seemingly chronological record of 1995, and that is what A Diary is. To be perfectly honest, it’s a great story but we’re not buying it. It has an apocryphal — or April Fools — ring to it. Was there a panoramic camera with date imprinting in the early 80’s?. We think it’s more likely the book was shot in 1994 — after all, that’s when Goldin was in Japan working on Tokyo Love, Spring Fever 1994 with Araki — with the concept already decided upon.

This is not a much sought after or rare Araki, as far as we know, so no need to rush to the Buy Now button just for collecting’s sake. And if you are more into the not-safe-for-work Araki, you may be disappointed. Nevertheless, we like it because it seems to have the right balance of “take a picture of anything that moves” and Sentimental Journey intimacy. We’re selling it because it’s chunky and stylistically overlaps other Araki books we have.

Condition
Some surface scratches and wear to obi and dust jacket, but very minimal.

Valuation
Haven’t searched this one on the web recently, but when I did I saw one copy for $80, and another for $350 (admittedly that one is signed, but still…).

Details
Hardcover, with obi. 26cm x 19cm. 1st printing, 1st edition. 200 pages, approx. 375 color photos. Available here. SOLD

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Kanako Sasaki was born in Sendai, Japan. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Ithaca College in New York in 2001, and in 2004 received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She also studied for two years at the Royal College of Art in London.

Since 2001 Sasaki has been exhibiting her work both in her native Japan and abroad and has held an increasing number of solo exhibitions where she shows installations mingling photography and video, in Budapest, Tokyo, New York, amongst others. Her work is focused on older women, in homage to her grandmother who died quite recently. By meeting such people all over the world, she is searching for a universal memory of a bygone time, in order not to lose her own memory. For her, her work is a “celebration of the capacity for survival of universal emotions”.

In 2006 she was selected as one of PDN’s #30 Emerging Photographers to Watch, and in 2008 she won a Shiseido Art Egg Award which is given by the cosmetics giant each year to three up-and-coming artists from various artistic fields.

The above photo comes from Sasaki’s “Ukiyo 1 – The World of Groping” series of portraits which she has been working on since 2006.

Sasaki is currently a resident artist at CENTQUATRE as part of a Paris-Tokyo artist cultural exchange program supported by Tokyo Wonder Site Institute of Contemporary Arts and International Cultural Exchange and the City of Paris. During her residency, Sasaki will work with elderly men and women from the district and Japanese who have lived in Paris for a long time, with the objective of revisiting their memories within the installation. In order to do this, she plans to visit these people’s flats, take photographs and conduct interviews, probing their memory and their connection with private and public space.

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UPDATED 7 Mar 2010 (see below)

Fujifilm has announced some changes in their product line affecting the following film products:

• Neopan 400 (Presto) 120 size is discontinued with immediate effect (does not affect availability in 135 format)
• 12 and 24 exposure rolls for 35mm film will be gradually phased out
• Acros 100 in 11×14 size (special order) discontinued
• Provia 100 F 11×14 (special order) discontinued
• Pro 160 NC 120 discontinued
• T64 reversal 4×5 sheet film, T64 reversal 4×5 Quickload and T64 reversal 8×10 sheet film discontinued

There will be some gradual changes in the packaged quantities of some films, for example single packs will become 3 packs or 5 packs; in the case of 120 format the 20-packs will be withdrawn and only 5-packs remain. We will reflect these changes in our web shop over time as appropriate and where applicable.

In the meantime, the best way to ensure long-term availability of film is to continue shooting it!

Update 7 Mar 2010:

It appears that retailers in the US have received the following notice:

OK…here’s the official Fuji list:
The following are now gone, with no replacement:
Color 160s and160c in 35, 120, 220, 4×5, 8×10, and 4×5 quickload
Color 800z in 35mm 5pack, 120 and 220
Velvia 50 4×5 quickload
Velvia 100 4×5 quickload
Velvia 100F 4×5 quickload
Astia 100F 4×5 quickload
Provia 100F 4×5 quickload
T64 in all formats
Neopan 400 120
CDUII in all formats

The following have had package changes:
Velvia 50, 100, 100F 4×5 and 8×10 are now in 20 sheet boxes
Velvia 50, 100, 100F are now in 5-packs

Astia 100F 4×5 now in 20 sheet boxes, 120 now in 5-packs.
Provia 100F 4×5 and 8×10 now in 20 sheet boxes; 120 now in 5-packs

Arcos 100 120 now in 5-packs, 4×5 now in 20 sheet boxes.

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Cosmicar 12.5mm/1.4 Television lens adapted for Micro 4/3

We are pleased to announce the addition of Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T mount/C mount lens connector S in addition to last year’s Micro Four-Thirds (M4/3) T mount/C mount lens connector L, both made by MS Optical.

Using C mount lenses on Micro Four-Thirds digital camera bodies has become widespread and an enjoyable exploration of lens history. Adapters like these are widely available but MS Optical’s connector kit is somewhat unique – a smartly designed device, not just a piece of metal.

Not only is it made to usual MADE IN JAPAN precision, also unlike other cheaper adapters available it consists of two finely machined parts: an outer ring with a T-Mount (M42, 0.75) screw mount hole, and a smaller removable step-down ring to C-Mount.

The two-part design of this adapter is helpful in cases where, for some reason, a lens cannot be screwed into the adapter as-is or where the aperture or depth of field scales may end up in the place where you cannot see them. The screws can be loosened and the assembly turned to a position you like.

The new S version is a very slim adapter without a surrounding rim to accommodate lenses with larger diameter. However do take care not to overload this adapter. Click on the image to see side-by-side large. Price for each adapter is ¥10,900 plus shipping.

Please pay particular attention to the instructions and warnings accompanying this device as improper use may damage your lens or camera. As in the case of the Cosmicar above, we are happy to accept your C mount lens and have it fitted to the adapter professionally by Mr Miyazaki. Please contact us for details.

Important note: Note that no matter what adapter you use, the image circle of the large majority of C-mount lenses (including the Cosmicar shown here) isn’t large enough to cover the full micro Four-Thirds frame. Instead, there’ll be more or less vignetting.

Neither Japan Exposures nor MS Optical can give you advice on which lens to use. Please research this carefully on the web and note too that manufacturers often put out very different lenses with the same brand name, focal length and aperture; these may have different image circles.) (Thanks Peter)

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Tsukasa Yokozawa was born in Nagoya, Japan in 1971 and is currently based in New York City. He graduated from the Tokyo College of Photography in Yokohama in 1996, where he also taught from 2000 to 2007. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and Deichtorhallen in Hamburg. His series “Spilt Milk” features photographs of cities in Japan taken from a great distance. In 2007, he received an arts fellowship from the Japanese government to continue that series in the United States, leading to the creation of the series “Parallel Lives”, made in New York. He is now participating in a group show at Danziger Projects in New York. Yokozawa’s work is in the permanent collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo and the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation in Miami. The above work dates from 2006.

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