Shunji Dodo
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese photographer of the Kii Peninsula
, Osaka
, and other subjects.
in 1970, and started teaching at Tōkyō Shashin Senmon Gakkō (now Visual Arts College Tokyo). Two years later he started work as a teacher of photography at Ōsaka Shashin Senmon Gakkō; in 1998 he was made head of the school, by that time renamed Visual Arts College Osaka.
Dodo was present when the film director Naomi Kawase, who had first been a student of his and was later teaching at Visual Arts Senmon Gakkō, had her first baby on 24 April 2004, in Nara
. This was filmed as Tarachime and Dodo photographed the event; the photographs were exhibited in Nara, Tokyo
, and Locarno
, and published as Haha .
Dodo's book of large-format black-and-white photographs A Radiant Land: Kii Peninsula won the PSJ
's Annual Award for 1995; his later collection of large-format colour photographs of the peninsula, A Radiant Land with Thousands of Years, was exhibited in Nara City Museum of Photography in 2000. The latter work also won him the Ina Nobuo Award
in 1999.
Dodo has said that his major influences were Shōmei Tōmatsu
, especially his Ryūkyū
series "Pencil of the Sun", and Yutaka Takanashi
, for the way in which Takanashi's concentration on Tokyo showed Dodo his own possibilities in Osaka. Among the photographers he admires are Robert Frank
and William Klein
.
Kii Peninsula
The is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...
, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, and other subjects.
Life and career
Dodo was born in Osaka in 1947. He graduated in fine arts from Kyushu Sangyo UniversityKyushu Sangyo University
was founded in 1960 in Fukuoka City, and currently has twenty departments and six graduate schools. It is a private university.-Undergraduate Faculties and departments:*Faculty of Economics**Department of Economics*Faculty of Commerce**Department of Commerce...
in 1970, and started teaching at Tōkyō Shashin Senmon Gakkō (now Visual Arts College Tokyo). Two years later he started work as a teacher of photography at Ōsaka Shashin Senmon Gakkō; in 1998 he was made head of the school, by that time renamed Visual Arts College Osaka.
Dodo was present when the film director Naomi Kawase, who had first been a student of his and was later teaching at Visual Arts Senmon Gakkō, had her first baby on 24 April 2004, in Nara
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
. This was filmed as Tarachime and Dodo photographed the event; the photographs were exhibited in Nara, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, and Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
, and published as Haha .
Dodo's book of large-format black-and-white photographs A Radiant Land: Kii Peninsula won the PSJ
Photographic Society of Japan
Since its inception, the Photographic Society of Japan has annually presented a large number of awards.-1952–1956:-1957–1984:-1985–1993:-1994–2003:-2004–2008:-2009–2010:...
's Annual Award for 1995; his later collection of large-format colour photographs of the peninsula, A Radiant Land with Thousands of Years, was exhibited in Nara City Museum of Photography in 2000. The latter work also won him the Ina Nobuo Award
Ina Nobuo Award
The is given annually by the Nikon Salon, an organization of exhibition spaces in Japan that is sponsored by Nikon Corporation.The award was started in 1976; it is named in honor of Nobuo Ina, a photography critic who headed the Nikon Salon from 1968 until his death in 1978.The award is given to...
in 1999.
Dodo has said that his major influences were Shōmei Tōmatsu
Shomei Tomatsu
is a Japanese photographer.Born Teruaki Tōmatsu in Nagoya in 1930, Tōmatsu studied economics at Aichi University, graduating in 1954. While still a student, he had his photographs published by the major Japanese photography magazines. He entered Iwanami and worked on the series Iwanami Shashin Bunko...
, especially his Ryūkyū
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
series "Pencil of the Sun", and Yutaka Takanashi
Yutaka Takanashi
is a Japanese photographer who has photographed fashion, urban design, and city life, and is best known for his depiction of Tokyo.-Life and career:...
, for the way in which Takanashi's concentration on Tokyo showed Dodo his own possibilities in Osaka. Among the photographers he admires are Robert Frank
Robert Frank
Robert Frank , born in Zürich, Switzerland, is an important figure in American photography and film. His most notable work, the 1958 photobook titled The Americans, was influential, and earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and skeptical outsider's view of American...
and William Klein
William Klein
William Klein is a photographer and filmmaker noted to for his ironic approach to both media and his extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography...
.
Exhibitions by Dodo
- 1978 "Ōsaka, Tennōji". Nikon SalonNikon Salonis the name given to exhibition spaces and activities run by Nikon in Japan.The Ginza Nikon Salon opened in January 1968 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Nippon Kōgaku . This was later augmented by the Shinjuku Nikon Salon and the Osaka Nikon Salon...
(Ginza, Osaka). - 1985 "Shinsekai: Mukashi mo ima mo". Nikon Salon (Ginza, Osaka).
- 1992 "Shujō yūraku, Bankoku". Nikon Salon (Ginza, Osaka).
- 1995–96 "Rakudo Kii hantō". Konica Plaza (Shinjuku, Osaka, Sapporo).
- 1999 "Sennen rakudo". Nikon Salon (Ginza, Osaka).
- 2000 "Sennen rakudo Kii hantō". Nara City Museum of Photography.
- 2002 ".com New York". Nikon Salon (Shinjuku).
- 2004 "Sharasōju". Visual Arts Gallery.
- 2006 "Haha". Gallery Out of Place (NaraNara, Narais the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
). - 2007 "Ha ha". Galerie Focale (NyonNyonNyon is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Geneva metropolitan area. It lies on the shores of Lake Geneva, and is the seat of the district of...
). - 2007 "Haha + vegetable". Gallery Bauhaus (Tokyo).
- 2007 "Ha ha". Focale Galerie (LocarnoLocarnoLocarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
). - 2010 "Osaka". Nikon Salon (Ginza and Osaka).
- 2010 "Kamagasaki/Shinsekai: Life in the shadow of the economic miracle". Zen Foto Gallery (ShibuyaShibuya, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
, Tokyo). Photographs of ShinsekaiShinsekaiShinsekai , "New World" in English, is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka City's downtown "Minami" area. The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half...
and KamagasakiKamagasakiis an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in Osaka, Japan. became the area's official name in May 1966.-Geography:Sections of four different towns — , , , and — are collectively known as Kamagasaki.- Transport :*West Japan Railway Company...
(both in Osaka) by Dodo and Seiryū InoueSeiryu Inouewas a renowned Japanese photographer.Born in 1931 in Tosa, Kōchi Prefecture, Inoue became the first apprentice to Takeji Iwamiya in Osaka in 1951. While continuing to work with Iwamiya in 1954 he started work as temporary cameraman for Asahi Broadcasting Corporation in Osaka.Iwamiya recognized his...
. - 2010 "Osaka". Tokio Out of Place (Minami Azabu, Tokyo).
Film, video
- Coproducer, The Mourning ForestThe Mourning ForestThe Mourning Forest is an 2007 Japanese film directed by Naomi Kawase. It won the Grand prix at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of a nurse who is grieving for her dead child...
(2007). - Actor, Tsunagari-yuku mono / Things Passed Down (dir. Naomi Kawase, 2009). Dodo plays the gruff photographer father in this long commercial for NikonNikon, also known as just Nikon, is a multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging. Its products include cameras, binoculars, microscopes, measurement instruments, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which...
.
Publications by Dodo
- Chihei / Horizon. Issues 1–10. 1971–77.
- Shinsekai: Mukashi mo ima mo . Osaka: Chōseisha, 1986. Black-and-white photographs of ShinsekaiShinsekaiShinsekai , "New World" in English, is an old neighbourhood located next to south Osaka City's downtown "Minami" area. The neighbourhood was created in 1912 with New York as a model for its southern half and Paris for its northern half...
, Osaka. - Horizon, 1993. A joint work.
- Shashin "Ningen no machi" 93/94 / Faces of Humanity 93/94. Edited by Shunji Dodo, George HashiguchiJoji Hashiguchiis a renowned Japanese photographer.-References:...
, and Naomi Yanagimoto. Published by the editors (at their respective addresses), 1994. Much of the text is in English as well as Japanese. On pp. 156–65 Dodo presents his own series, "Kaosu 1969–1970" , photographs of people from US military bases and of protests against these. - Rakudo: Kii hantō / A Radiant Land: Kii Peninsula. Osaka: Brain Center, 1995. ISBN 4-8339-0525-6. Large-format black-and-white photographs of the Kii PeninsulaKii PeninsulaThe is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...
. - Sennen rakudo / A Radiant Land with Thousands of Years. Osaka: Brain Center, 2000. ISBN 4-8339-0530-2. Large-format colour photographs of the Kii PeninsulaKii PeninsulaThe is the largest peninsula on the island of Honshū in Japan. The area south of the “Central Tectonic Line” is called Nankii , and includes the most poleward living coral reefs in the world due to the presence of the warm Kuroshio Current, though these are threatened by global warming and human...
. - Sharasōju . Kumie, 2003. With Naomi Kawase; related to Kawase's film SharaShara (film)Shara , is a 2003 Japanese drama film directed by Naomi Kawase. It was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Kōhei Fukunaga as Shun* Yuka Hyōdō as Yu* Naomi Kawase as Reiko* Katsuhisa Namase as Taku* Kanako Higuchi as Shouko...
. - Haha . Nara: Gallery Out of Place, 2006.
- Saien + sakura / A Vegetable Garden, Sakura. Osaka: Vacuum Press, 2009. ISBN 978-4-9903288-4-9. Black-and-white photographs of the products of Dodo's vegetable garden, and of cherry blossoms.
- Ōsaka ( / Osaka. Seigensha, 2010. ISBN 978-4-86152-255-0. Large-format black-and-white photographs of Osaka.
External links
- First of a series of five photographs from Haha.
- Publisher's page for Osaka, with sample photographs.
- Publisher's page for Saien + sakura, with (tiny) sample photographs.
- Transcript of a short MBSMainichi Broadcasting Systemis a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...
program about Dodo, broadcast on 21 May 2010.