is a renowned Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 photographer.

Born in Shinagawa, 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...

, in 1941, Akiyama studied in the Faculty of Political Science of Waseda University

Waseda University

, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...

 and then went to Tokyo College of Photography

Tokyo College of Photography

The was set up in Nakano, Tokyo in 1958, as Tokyo Photo School ; its current name dates from 1960. During the 1960s, it moved to Hiyoshi , where it has remained....

, graduating in 1964. He became an assistant to Yasuhiro Ishimoto

Yasuhiro Ishimoto

Ishimoto was born on 14 June 1921 in San Francisco, California, where his parents were farmers. In 1924, the family left the United States and returned to his parents' hometown within present-day Tosa, in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan...

 but very quickly turned freelance. With Haruo Satō, he created Wakai gunzō , a series of photographs of young people within crowds, taken close up with a wide-angle lens that won acclaim; it led to a series of collaborations with Satō.

Akiyama traveled to east and west Europe just before the destruction of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...

; he also photographed carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

s in the West Indies

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

at around this time.

Akiyama taught at Punjab College of Photography from 1970.

Books by Akiyama

• Kokkyō Rurō . Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2010. ISBN 4-582-82377-7.
• Kūsatsu Dai-Tōkyō . Tokyo: Shōbunsha, 1991. ISBN 4-398-22151-4.
• Nihon kūchū kikō / Sky Landscape. Tokyo: Jiji Tsūshin, 1994. ISBN 4-7887-9401-2.
• Kokkyō Rurō / Wandering about the Boundaries. 2 vols. Kyoto: Kyōto Shorin, 1998. ISBN 4-7636-1708-7 (vol. 1), ISBN 4-7636-1709-5 (vol. 2).
• Nippon air scope: Tori no yō ni kaze no yō ni (Nippon air scope: ). Kyoto: Kyōto Shorin, 1999. ISBN 4-7636-1711-7.
• Tokyo air scope: Kūchū ni sankyaku o tateru . Kyoto: Kyōto Shorin, 1999. ISBN 4-7636-1726-5.
• Farmer. Tokyo: Tōseisha, 2000. ISBN 4-924725-97-8.
• Nogyō o yarō! . Tokyo: Sankaidō, 2000. ISBN 4-381-10372-6.