Ikkō Narahara

Ikkō Narahara (奈良原一高, "Narahara Ikkō". b. 1931), sometimes "Ikko Narahara" or simply "Ikko", is a Japanese photographer. Born in Fukuoka, Narahara studied art history at the graduate school of Waseda University (from which he received an MA in 1959).

He had his first solo exhibition, "Ningen no tochi" (Human land), at the Matsushima Gallery (Ginza) in 1956. In this Narahara showed Kurokamimura, a village on Sakurajima. The exhibition brought instant renown. In his second exhibition, "Domains", at the Fuji Photo Salon in 1958, he showed a Trappist monastery in Tobetsu (Hokkaidō), and a women's prison in Wakayama.

In the meantime, Narahara had shown his works in the first (1957) of three exhibitions titled The Eyes of Ten; exhibited in all three, and went on to join the short-lived Vivo collective.

In 1962-5 he stayed in Paris, and 1970-74 in New York.

Narahara's work often depicts isolated communities and extreme conditions. He makes much use of wide angle lenses, even hemispherical-coverage ("circular") fisheye lenses.

In 1967 Narahara won the Photographer of the Year Award from the Japan Photo Critics Association. He has won numerous other prizes.

Works by Narahara

Booklength collections

*"Yōroppa: teishi shita jikan" (ヨーロッパ・静止した時間, Where time has stopped). Kajima, 1967.
*"Supēn: Idai naru gogo" (スペーン・偉大なる午後) "España gran tarde." Kyūryūdō, 1969.
*"Japanesuku" (ジャパネスク, Japanesque). Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbun-sha, 1970.
*"Ōkoku" (王国) / "Man and his land." Tokyo: Chūōkoronsha, 1971.
*"Shōmetsu shita jikan" (消滅した時間) / "Where time has vanished." Tokyo: Asahi Shinbun-sha, 1975. Rpt Tokyo: Creo, 1995. ISBN 4-906371-20-5
*"Ōkoku: Chinmoku no sono, kabe no naka" (王国：沈黙の園・壁の中). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1978.
*"Chikakute haruka na tabi" (近くて遥かな旅). Tokyo: Shūeisha, 1979.
*"Hikari no kairō: San Maruko" (光の回廊：サン・マルコ, Arcade of light: Piazza San Marco). Tokyo: Unac, 1981.
*"Shashin no jikan" (写真の時間). Tokyo: Kōsakusha, 1981. With Seigow Matsuoka (松岡正剛).
*"Narahara Ikkō" (奈良原一高, Ikkō Narahara). Shōwa shashin zenshigoto 9. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbun-sha, 1983.
*"Venetsia no yoru" (ヴェネツィアの夜) / "Venice: Nightscapes." Tokyo: Iwanami, 1985. ISBN 4-00-008027-X. Most of the text is in Japanese only, but the captions and an essay by Narahara are in English as well as Japanese.
*"Shōzō no fūkei" (肖像の風景). Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1985. ISBN 4-10-357501-8.
*"Ningen no tochi" (人間の土地), "Human land." Tokyo: Libroport, 1987.
*"Hoshi no kioku" (星の記憶, The memory of stars). Tokyo: Parco, 1987.
*"Venetsia no hikari" (ヴェネツィアの光) / "Venetian Light." Tokyo: Ryūkō Tsūshin, 1985. ISBN 4-947551-93-3.
*"Burōdowei" (ブロードウェイ) / "Broadway." Tokyo: Creo, 1991. ISBN 4-906371-05-1.
*"Dyushan dai-garasu to Takiguchi Shūzō shigā bokkusu" (デュシャン大ガラスと瀧口修造シガー・ボックス) / "Marcel Duchamp large glass with Shuzo Takiguchi cigar box." Tokyo: Misuzu, 1992. ISBN 4622042428.
*"Kū" (空) / "Emptiness." Tokyo: Libroport, 1994. ISBN 4-8457-0898-1.
*Takemitsu, Tōru and Giovanni Chiaramonte. "Ikko Narahara: Japanesque." Milan: Motta, 1994. ISBN 88-7179-087-1. In Italian
*"Tokyo, the '50s." Tokyo: Mole, 1996. ISBN 4-938628-21-X.
*"Narahara Ikkō" (奈良原一高, Ikkō Narahara). Tokyo: Iwanami, 1997.
*"Poketto Tōkyō" (ポケット東京) / "Pocket Tokyo." Tokyo: Creo, 1997. ISBN 4-87736-010-7.
*"Ten" (天) / "Heaven." Tokyo: Creo, 2002. ISBN 4-87736-078-6
*"Mukokuseki-chi" (無国籍地) / "Stateless Land: 1954." Tokyo: Creo, 2004. ISBN 4-87736-097-2.
*"Jikū no kagami" (時空の鏡) / "Mirror of space and time." Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 2004. ISBN 4-10-357502-6.
*"En" (円) / "En: Circular vision." Tokyo: Creo, 2004. ISBN 4-87736-102-2.

Other books with work by Narahara

*Hiraki, Osamu, and Keiichi Takeuchi. "Japan, a Self-Portrait: Photographs 1945–1964." Paris: Flammarion, 2004. ISBN 2-08-030463-1 Also presents work by Ken Domon, Hiroshi Hamaya, Tadahiko Hayashi, Eikō Hosoe, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Kikuji Kawada, Ihei Kimura, Shigeichi Nagano, Takeyoshi Tanuma, and Shōmei Tōmatsu.
*ja icon "Nihon nūdo meisakushū" (nihongo2|日本ヌード名作集, Japanese nudes). "Camera Mainichi" bessatsu. Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1982. Pp.194–99 show nudes by Narahara.
*"Nihon shashin no tenkan: 1960 nendai no hyōgen" (nihongo2|日本写真の転換：1960時代の表現) / "Innovation in Japanese Photography in the 1960s." Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1991. Exhibition catalogue, text in Japanese and English. Pp.18–29 show a selection of Narahara's earlier work. (That on p.23 is upside down, as pointed out in an erratum slip.)
*"Shashin toshi Tōkyō" (写真都市Tokyo) / "Tokyo/City of Photos." Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995. Catalogue of an exhibition held in 1995. Also presents work by Takanobu Hayashi, Hiroh Kikai, Ryūji Miyamoto, Daidō Moriyama, Shigeichi Nagano, Mitsugu Ōnishi, Masato Seto, Issei Suda, Akihide Tamura, Tokuko Ushioda, and Hiroshi Yamazaki. Captions and texts in both Japanese and English.
*Yamagishi, Shoji, ed. "Japan, a self-portrait." New York: International Center of Photography, 1979. ISBN 0933642016 (hard), ISBN 0933642024 paper). Also presents works by Ryōji Akiyama, Nobuyoshi Araki, Taiji Arita, Masahisa Fukase, Hiroshi Hamaya, Shinzō Hanabusa, Miyako Ishiuchi, Kikuji Kawada, Jun Morinaga, Daidō Moriyama, Kishin Shinoyama, Issei Suda, Shōmei Tōmatsu, Haruo Tomiyama, Hiromi Tsuchida, Shōji Ueda, Gashō Yamamura, and Hiroshi Yamazaki.
*Yamagishi, Shoji, and John Szarkowski, eds. "New Japanese photography." New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1974. ISBN 0-87070-503-2 (hard), ISBN 0-87070-503-2 (paper). Also presents work by Ryōji Akiyama, Ken Domon, Eikō Hosoe, Masahisa Fukase, Tetsuya Ichimura, Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Bishin Jūmonji, Kikuji Kawada, Daidō Moriyama, Masatoshi Naitō, Ken Ohara, Akihide Tamura (as Shigeru Tamura), Shōmei Tōmatsu, and Hiromi Tsuchida.Ikko Narahara

Biography

1931 Born in Fukuoka, Japan ;1954 Received a B.A. in Law from Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan ; Influenced by sculptures of Buddha in Nara, began to study art history at the Graduate School of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan ; Began to take photo series “Stateless Land” and “Human Land” ;1956 Held his first solo exhibition “Human Land” in Tokyo and started his career as a photographer ;1959 Received a M.A. in Art History from the Graduate School of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan ;Founded VIVO self photography agency with S.Tomatsu, E.Hosoe, K.Kawada, A.Sato, A.Tanno, Tokyo, Japan (～’61) ;1962－’65 Lived in Paris, Europe ;1965－’70 Lived in Tokyo, Japan ;1970－’74 Lived in New York, USA ;Since 1974 Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan ;1999－2005 Professor at the Graduate School of Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan ;

Photography Exhibitions

1956 Solo exhibition “Human Land” Matsushima Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1957 “The Eyes of the Ten” Konishiroku Photo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan(～’59) ;1958 Solo exhibition “Domains” Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo, Japan ;1959 Solo exhibition “Castle―Toward The Outer Space” Marunouchi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Biennale Internazionale di Fotografia” Venezia, Italy ;1960 Solo exhibition “Land of Chaos” Fuji Photo Salon, Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Blue Yokohama” Gekko Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Contemporary Photography” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan ;1962 “NON” Ginza Matsuya, Tokyo, Japan ;1965 Solo exhibition “Espana Gran Tarde” Fuji Photo Salon; Ichibankan Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1966 “Ten Contemporaries” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan ;1970 Solo exhibition “Espana Gran Tarde” Ikebukuro Seibu Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1972 Solo exhibition “Celebration of Life” Shibuya Seibu Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1973 Solo exhibition “IKKO” International Museum of Photography, at George Eastman House, Rochester; Neikrug Gallery , New York, USA; etc. ; “The World Selections by the Critic” Neikrug Gallery, New York, USA ;1974 “New Japanese Photography” The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA ; “Ten Photographers” McMaster Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada ;Solo exhibition “IKKO’S AMERICA” Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan ;1975 Solo exhibition “IKKO” Light Gallery, New York, USA ; Solo exhibition “Where Time Has Stopped” Shadai Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1976 “Neue Fotografie aus Japan” Kulturhaus, Graz and Wien, Austria ;1977 Solo exhibition “Broadway ’73－’74” Iida Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Locations in Time” International Museum of Photography, at George Eastman House, Rochester, USA ;1978 Invited to “Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie” Arles, France ; “VIVO” Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California, USA ;1979 Solo exhibition “Arcades of Light－Piazza of San Marco” Wako Hall,Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Japanesque－Journey To A Land So Near and Yet So Far” Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka; Unac Salon, Tokyo; Iida Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Japan: A Self-Portrait” International Center of Photography, New York, USA ; Venezia, Italy; etc. ; “Fleeting Gestures : Dance Photographs” International Center of Photography, New York, USA ; “Fotografia Giapponese Dal 1848 Ad Oggi” Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Bologna; Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy; etc. ;1980 Solo exhibition “Light and Waves” Maruzen Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; etc. ; Solo exhibition “Venetian Light ” Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan ; “1980 Premiere Triennale Internationale de Photographie” Palais des Beaux-Arts, Charleroi, Belgium ;1981 Solo exhibition “IKKO NARAHARA” Photographer’s Gallery, London, UK ; “Das Imaginäre Photo-Museum” Photokina, Köln, Germany ;1982 “20th Century Photographs from the Museum of Modern Art, New York” Seibu Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan ; “Museum Collection” The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan ;1983　 Solo exhibition “Luminous City－Venezia” Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Aerial Perspective” Ikebukuro Seibu Contemporary Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ;1984 Solo exhibition “Ikko Narahara” in “Amsterdam Foto ’84” Amsterdam, Holland ; “Six Contemporary Photographers－Polaroid 20"×24"” Ikebukuro Seibu Art Forum, Tokyo, Japan ;1985 Solo exhibition “Humanscape”Yurakucho Asahi Galleery, Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Light and Darkness: Ikko’s World” Walker Hill Art Center, Seoul, Korea ; “Paris－New York－Tokyo” Tsukuba Museum of Photography 1985, Ibaraki, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Ikko Narahara” in “Torino Fotografia ’85” Torino, Italy ; “Génération Polaroïd” Pavillon des Arts, Paris, France ;1986 Solo exhibition “Digital City” Nikon Salon, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan ; “Houston Foto Fest Biennial Exhibition: Houston and the Rodeo” Houston, USA ;1986－’87 “Japon des avant-gardes, 1910－1970” Le Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France ;1987 Solo exhibition “Human Land” Photo Gallery International, Tokyo; Picture Photo Space, Osaka, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Stateless Land” Unac Salon, Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Stellar Memories” Parco Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Fotografie 1945－1985” Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany ;1987－’88 Solo exhibition “Venezia” Printemps Ginza, Tokyo; Daimaru Museum, Osaka, Japan ;1989 Solo exhibition “Bergamo” Unac Salon, Tokyo, Japan ;1990 “Tokyo－TOKYO” Yurakucho Seibu Art Forum, Tokyo, Japan ; “International View Point” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA ;1991 Solo exhibition “Broadway” “Rebirth” Photo Gallery International, Tokyo, Japan ; “54 Master Photographers of 1960－1979” International Center of Photography, New York, USA ; “Venice” New Church, Amsterdam, Holland ; “Innovation in Japanese Photography in the 1960s” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan ; “Photographs in Japan 1955－1965” The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan ;1993 “Photographers Who Created a New Age 1960s－’70s” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan ;1994 Solo exhibition “Blue Yokohama” Past Rays Photo Gallery, Yokohama, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Fifteen Thousand Nights” Plaza Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Reflection of Venice” Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, USA ; “Quest for the Moon” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA ;1995 Solo exhibition “Pocket Tokyo” “Vertical Horizon－Tokyo Skyline” Konica Plaza, Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “Tokyo, the ’50s” Mole Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Tokyo－City of Photos” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan ; “Homage to Tatsuhiko Shibusawa” Nichido Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “Hyogo Aid ’95 by Art: 23 Artists” Akashi, Japan; etc. ;1996 “1953 Shedding Light on Art in Japan” Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan; etc. ;1997 Solo exhibition “Pocket Tokyo 1992－1997” Konica Plaza, Tokyo, Japan ;1997－’98 Solo exhibition “Where Time Has Vanished” Taichung Photo Gallery, Taichung; Taipei Photo Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan ;1998 Solo exhibition “Where Time Has Vanished” Photo Gallery International, Tokyo; the Gallery 807, Hakodate, Japan; etc. ; “Realism in Postwar Japan 1945－1960” Nagoya City Art Museum, Japan ;1999 Solo exhibition “En－Seven Heavens + Circular Vision” Verso Photo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan ; “The Tracks of the Photography Expression－1950 to Today” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan ;2000 Solo exhibition “Zen” Piccolo Teatro Strehler, Milano, Italy ; Solo exhibition “Human Land” Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan ;2001 “The Spirit of Religion” Photographic Center, Skopelos, Greece ; “Viva! ITALIA” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan ;2001－’02 “Peace Art Poster By 100 Artists” New York, USA; Tokyo, Japan; etc. ; “The Horse－A Homage” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan ;2002 Solo exhibition “Domains” Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan ; “Photography and the Landscape of 20th Century” The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan ;2002－’03 Solo exhibition “Ikko Narahara” Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France ;2003 Solo exhibition “HEAVEN” Photo Gallery International, Tokyo, Japan ; Gallery RAKU, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan ; The Museum of Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan ; “The History of Japanese Photography” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA ; “Japon 1945－1975, Un Renouveau Photographique” L’Hôtel de Sully, Paris, France ; “VIVO” Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan ;2004 Solo exhibition “Ikko Narahara” Photoforum, Bienne, Switzerland ; “In the Center of Things” Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona, USA ; Solo exhibition “Mirror of Space and Time: Synchronicty”Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan ; Solo exhibition “En-Circular Vision” Nikon Salon,Tokyo and Osaka, ets Japan ; 　　　 Solo exhibition “En-Circular Vision” Gallery RAKU Kyoto Univerity of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan ; 2005 Solo exhibition “En-Circular Vision” Kyushu Sangyo Univerity Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan ;　　 Solo exhibition “En-Circular Vision” Tamba City Ueno Memorial Art Museum, Kyoto, Japan ;“Photgraphy/Nagasaki” Nagasaki Prefectual Museum, Nagasaki, Japan“Modern Japanese Art from the Museum Collection“ The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan2006 “Showa no Kiroku” Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayasi, Gunma, Japan ;2007 “VIVO” Shadai Gallry ,Tokyo, Japan ;2008 “Showa: Photography 1945-1989” Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo, Japan ;

Awards

1958 The Most Promising Photographer Award (Japan Photo Critics Association) ;1959 Bronze Medal (Biennale Internazionale di Fotografia, Venezia, Italy) ;1967 Photographer of the Year Award (Japan Photo Critics Association) ;1968　　Mainichi Arts Award (Mainichi Shimbunsha, Japan) ;1968 The Minister of Education Award of Arts (The Government of Japan) ;1987 The Higashikawa Prize (Higashikawa, Japan) ;1996 Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (The Government of Japan) ;　2005　　Photographic Society of Japan Award Distinguished Contributions Award (The Photographic Society of Japan） ;2006 The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (The Government of Japan) ;

Selected Public Collections

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA ;Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA ;International Museum of Photography, at George Eastman House, Rochester, USA ;The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA ;Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey, USA ;Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona, USA ;Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France ;Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France ;Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany ;The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan ;The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan ;Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan ;Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan ;Kawasaki City Museum, Japan ;The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan ;Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Yamanashi, Japan ;Shimane Art Museum, Matsue, Japan ;Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe, Japan ;Kure Municipal Museum of Art, Hiroshima, Japan ;Kobe Fashion Museum, Japan ;Kawara Museum of Takahama City, a Hometown of Ceramics, Aichi, Japan ;Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan ;Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan ;Tokyo Polytechnic University, Shadai Gallery, Japan ;The Art Museum of Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan ;The Museum of Kyushu Sangyo University, Fukuoka, Japan ;

ources and external links

* [http://www.nikon.co.jp/main/eng/feelnikon/comfort/gallery/200411narahara_ikko/index.htm Narahara comments on "En"] , and on his photography in general.
*ja icon [http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/photographer/2001_07narahara/profile.html Narahara's CV] at Fuji Film
*ja icon [http://www.syabi.com/topics/t_narahara.html Interview with Narahara]
*ja icon "Nihon shashinka jiten" (『日本写真家事典』, "328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers"). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8
* Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. "The History of Japanese Photography." New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-300-09925-8