shashasha

The book “Shinko Shashin no Senkusha – Shigene Kanemaru” (lit. “Shigene Kanemaru – Pioneer of Japan’s New Photography”) examines the life and work of Shigene Kanemaru (1900–1977), one of the foremost pioneers of “New Photography,” a Japanese movement influenced by Germany’s Bauhaus und Neue Sachlichkeit. Together with figures such as Ihei Kimura, Senichi Kimura or Kozo Nojima, Kanemaru widened the possibilities of photography and helped establish a new visual style in the world of advertising. He was a significant factor in the development of Japanese photography both before and after the war who closely followed new developments in European and Soviet photography; he established the first commercial photography studio in Japan, worked as a propaganda photographer to cover the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, and later became a vital educator who laid the foundations for the photography department at Nihon University.

Opening with 41 pages dedicated to Kanemaru’s photographs (including advertisements, photographs shot in Germany during the Olympic Games and several propaganda photographs), the book continues a detailed biography over 300 pages, including many additional images (220 in total).

Please note that the book is only available in Japanese language.