Taku Aramasa
Encyclopedia
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...
on 15 August 1936, Aramasa moved with his family to Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
in 1940. In 1948 he moved to Sakata
Sakata, Yamagata
is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.As of 2006, the city has an estimated population of 116,883 and the population density of 193.92 persons per km². The total area is 602.74 km².-History:The city was founded on April 1, 1933...
, Yamagata
Yamagata
-Places in Japan:*Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata City, the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture**Yamagata Airport , an airport located in Yamagata**Yamagata Shinkansen, one of Shinkansen lines running between Tokyo Station and Shinjo Station...
. He graduated from (now Musashino Art University
Musashino Art University
is a university in Kodaira, western Tokyo founded in 1962 and has roots going back to 1929.Teikoku Art School was founded in 1929; in 1948 it became Musashino Art School , and in 1962 it became Musashino Art University...
) in 1960, and set up a design company in which he was an art director, but became a freelance in 1970. He worked as a fashion photographer in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1973 to 1976. In 1980 he met his parents, from whom he had been separated, and started work on a photographic contribution to the effort of reuniting Japanese war orphans and their biological parents. This work branched into the photography of people of Japanese descent in Hawai'i and South America.
A Portrait of Japanese Immigrants to South America won the Domon Ken Award
Domon Ken Award
The Domon Ken Award is one of Japan's most celebrated photographic awards.The award was started in 1981 by the Mainichi Newspapers to mark the 110th birthday of the Mainichi Shimbun, its daily newspaper and main publication, in honor of the photographer Ken Domon...
in 1986; Aramasa subsequently won various other awards.
Aramasa has taught at Musashino Art University from 1993.
Exhibitions
- "A Portrait of Japanese Immigrants to South America,” Yurakucho Marion, Tokyo, 1986
- "A Portrait of Japanese Immigrants to South America,” Hiroshima and Osaka, Japan, 1987
- "Taku Aramasa Photographs-The 80th Anniversary of Japanese Immigration to Brazil," São Paulo Museum of Modern ArtSão Paulo Museum of Modern ArtThe São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, , is located in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo....
, São Paulo, 1988 - "Family, Commemorative Exhibition of ‘Who Am I',” 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...
, Tokyo and Osaka, 1990 - "Who Am I?- War Orphans Left in China,” Tokyo Metropolitan Art Gallery, Tokyo, 1991
- "Who Am I?- War Orphans Left in China,” Hiroshima and Fukuoka, Japan, 1992
- "Taku Aramasa Photographs: Portraits of Native America,” Yuraku-cho Art Forum, Tokyo, Hakata, Nara and Takaoka, Japan, 1994
- "Silent Land-Prison Camps in Siberia,” Sinjuku Park Tower Gallery 1, Tokyo, 1995
- "Manchuria/Siberia,” Kawasaki City Museum, Kawasaki, Japan, 1996
- "Silent Land-Prison Camps in Siberia,” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyTokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyThe is an art museum focused on photography. The museum was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is located in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo...
, Tokyo, 1997 - "Aramasa Taku Photographs-America/Promised Land,” Mitsumura Art Plaza, Tokyo, 2000
- "11+1 Photographs,” Musashino Art University, Department of Imaging Arts 10th Anniversity, Mitsumura Art Plaza, Tokyo, 2000
- "Aramasa Taku Photographs: Portraits of Japanese Immigrants," Polaroid Gallery, Tokyo, 2001
- "Only Skin Deep-Changing vision of the American self,” International Center of PhotographyInternational Center of PhotographyThe International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, New York, NY - "Aramasa Taku-Sakura," Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco California, 2005
- "Aramasa Taku Photographs-Apocalypse," Museum of Musashino Art University, Tokyo, 2006
- "Aramasa Taku Photographs-America/promised Land" (platinum prints) Gallery Out of Place, Nara Japan, 2008
- "Aramasa Sakura," Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka, 2008
Awards
- 28th New Artist of the Year Award, Japan Photography Association, 1978
- Grand Prize (Public Poster) at the 1st International Triennale Toyama, 1985
- the 5th Domon Ken AwardDomon Ken AwardThe Domon Ken Award is one of Japan's most celebrated photographic awards.The award was started in 1981 by the Mainichi Newspapers to mark the 110th birthday of the Mainichi Shimbun, its daily newspaper and main publication, in honor of the photographer Ken Domon...
, 1986 - the 10th Higashikawa Award, 1994
- the 46th Artist of the Year Award, Japan Photography Association, 1996
Collections
- Center for Creative PhotographyCenter for Creative PhotographyThe Center for Creative Photography , established in 1975 and located on the University of Arizona campus, is a research facility and archival repository containing the full archives of over sixty of the most famous American photographers including those of Edward Weston, Harry Callahan and Garry...
, University of Arizona, Arizona - Domon Ken Memorial Hall, Sakata, Japan
- Higashikawa Museum, Higashikawa-cho, Hokkaido, Japan
- São Paulo Museum, São Paulo, Brazil
- History Museum of Japanese Immigrants, São Paulo, Brazil
- International Center of PhotographyInternational Center of PhotographyThe International Center of Photography is a photography museum, school, and research center in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
, New York, New York - Osaka Human Rights History Museum, Osaka, Japan
- San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco Museum of Modern ArtThe San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
, San Francisco, California - History Museum of Japanese Immigrants, San Jose, California
- Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyTokyo Metropolitan Museum of PhotographyThe is an art museum focused on photography. The museum was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is located in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo...
, Tokyo, Japan - Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, California
- Gallery Out of Place, Nara, Japan
- Museum of Musashino Art UniversityMusashino Art Universityis a university in Kodaira, western Tokyo founded in 1962 and has roots going back to 1929.Teikoku Art School was founded in 1929; in 1948 it became Musashino Art School , and in 1962 it became Musashino Art University...
, Tokyo, Japan
Books by Aramasa
- Gyakkō sango shō . Tokyo: Bunka Shuppankyoku, 1974.
- Aramasa Taku shashinshū . Tokyo: 北斗企画.
- 3. Anita Russell. 1977.
- 4. Carnaval. 1979.
- Carnaval: Aramassa e os anjos. Tokyo: Canon, 1979.
- To My Angels. 2nd ed. Tokyo: Zenkoku Kajo Hōrei Shuppan, 1983. ISBN 4-210-15261-4.
- Haruka naru sokoku / A Portrait of Japanese Immigrants to South America. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 1985. ISBN 4-02-255402-9. Text in Japanese and English (English translation by Lora Sharnoff).
- Who Am I? War Orphans Left in China. Who Am I? Publishing Committee. 1990.
- Shūchō no keifu / Portraits of Native America. Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-206731-5.
- Monchiku no daichi / Shiberia / The Silent Land: Prison Camps in Siberia. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1995. ISBN 4-480-87274-4.
- Yakusoku no daichi / Amerika / America / Promised Land. Tokyo: Misuzu Shobō, 2000. ISBN 4-622-04422-6. Text in Japanese and English.
- Mokushi . Musashino, Tokyo: Musashino Daigaku Shuppankyoku, 2006. ISBN 4-901631-73-X.
- Aramasa Taku Photographs-Apocalypse. Museum Musashino Art University, 2006.
- Aramasa Taku Photographs- Apocalypse. Museum of Musashino Art University, 2007. E-book.