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Photobook Tour #2: Shinobu by Daido Moriyama

Join me with your Sunday coffee for a 6-minute art break.

Join me with your Sunday coffee or wine for a meditative full visual tour of one of my favorite photobooks set to chill ambient music.

Every time I look through it, I appreciate its exquisite juxtapositions and flow more and more. It feels amazing in the hand; the lacquered silk-screened canvas cover is absolutely perfect for its contents – both lo-fi and resilient, rough and luxe.

“Shinobu” by Daido MORIYAMA.

Publisher: Akio Nagasawa Publishing / Tokyo, Japan.
80 images / 210 x 297 mm
2021

Limited run: #175 of 350

“There was a woman called Shinobu in Shinjuku’s red light quarter. She was a person who loved flowers. It’s already ten years since I last saw her. Even now, I think of her sometimes.This is a profile of her as she appears in my memory.” — Daido Moriyama

And here’s a super-relevant recent interview with Moriyama by his publisher talking about his photo magazine RECORD and what drives him.

Thanks as always for joining me.

Have a lovely Sunday and week!

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18 responses to “Photobook Tour #2: Shinobu by Daido Moriyama”

  1. ASH Avatar
    ASH

    The shoe with the blood stains inside it… powerful

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Absolutely. This is one of things I love about how his work is presented/curated — color is only used to intentional and powerful effect.

      Reply
      1. ASH Avatar
        ASH

        Agreed

  2. James Avatar
    James

    What a beautiful love letter!! I’ve always loved Moriyama’s natural way of humanizing the subjects of his photographs, of giving them a soul, is remarkable. Objects and people that, without his gaze, no one would stop to contemplate the beauty they hold. I’m impressed with how a greaty, grainy, obscure image, can turn out so bright and clear. I think he has sometimes been misunderstood: He is a traitor of darkness who seeks light in the dark. Thank you for this poetic moment of sunday morning coffee!!!

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Indeed! Thanks for viewing. Some of my favorite work of his is this type of “love letter” to a person or a very specific place. I once got to see one of his subjects in person. I’d visited a tiny photographers’ bar in Tokyo that he sometimes frequents, and I was looking at an old book of his. The bartender told me that she (the subject) now owned a bar nearby; I passed by it and saw her talking to customers. Cool experience.

      Misunderstood or not – I think Daido is a fortunate artist who is appreciated and celebrated in his lifetime.

      Reply
      1. James Avatar
        James

        What a gift!!

        “Misunderstood or not – I think Daido is a fortunate artist who is appreciated and celebrated in his lifetime.” I’m think som

  3. søren k. harbel Avatar
    søren k. harbel

    This is a great way to see a book. Thank you, Jill. I note you painted your nails to suit Moriyama and his deep blacks. Excellent! It is difficult to keep up with his work. So many books, so little time! I often wonder how the Japanese feel about us western types reading their books backwards, or indeed having to accommodate and reversing the order of the pages. This one is clearly made for a western audience…. Nice one! Thank you….

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Thank you Søren as ever for your keen eye and words that make one think and appreciate anew. Black nail varnish is, of course, the proper way to page through such a book. Interesting point about directionality; as far as I can tell, this publisher (who has published him for a long time, incl. all/most Records) does typically print left-to-right — but! I am now going to go down a rabbithole of if this was always so for Daido, and if it is so for other artists they publish. Daido is their mostly internationally-known artist, so the concession (?) is not altogether surprising. Thank you for inspiring the day’s research. : )

      Reply
      1. søren k. harbel Avatar
        søren k. harbel

        Now you mention it, I do have a number of their books and they seem to be printed ‘western-style’ I do wonder if they also have Japanese editions? Let me know what you find. I am going for a walk.. outside, and not down a rabbit hole, but maybe later….. 😀

  4. Leon Goossens Avatar
    Leon Goossens

    Thanks for sharing this book Jill. To be honest, I didn’t like Daido Moriyama’s work at all when I first started taking photography a bit more seriously. Why? I just couldn’t connect with his harsh and gritty black-and-white style. A matter of personal taste, of course. But over time and maybe with age (…) I’ve started to appreciate it more and more, and now I even admire his photography. I can definitely see a bit of Daido’s style in your own work. Great!

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Thank you Leon for taking a look and your thoughtful comments. Not liking any given art is of course ok — there is plenty of art (and people!) I can “appreciate” but don’t necessarily like. I love that you’re aware/conscious of your tastes changing or evolving over time; that is so much what is cool and interesting and joyful about art – it meets us where we are.

      Reply
  5. Paul Votava Avatar
    Paul Votava

    I see his influence in your work. The few color images are certainly impactful. I noticed some pairings of nature with details relating to an aspect of the person opposite, like might be seen in a diptych. Not always though, and the many fold-out sections seemed a type of interaction with the viewer, enhancing the experience. The double exposure is incredible. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Thanks Paul for taking a look. Well said re: pairings — I do love the sequencing. (This is what is interesting/challenging about making photobooks: the format forces diptychs. Individual photos are transformed.) Every time I look at this book, I see more connections and motifs. You are right about the interactive aspects — fold-outs etc — it adds so much to the experience of the physical book. There are some interesting interviews with him out there — but I’m increasingly wanting one with the publisher/designer instead!

      Here’s a super-relevant Daido interview if you’re interested: https://youtu.be/ztwTP1uBS2s?si=UGUn_vPQfdbHjqS9

      Reply
      1. Paul Votava Avatar
        Paul Votava

        Love it, thanks!

  6. Hanz Avatar
    Hanz

    Best of all time!

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      And I love how he is still at it.

      Reply
  7. Susanne Helmert Avatar
    Susanne Helmert

    Some really interesting pairings in there. Thank you for sharing.
    I can see the influence he has on you in your zine!

    Reply
    1. JILL.PHOTOS Avatar
      JILL.PHOTOS

      Thank you dear Susanne! Glad you enjoyed.

      Reply

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