Hiroh Kikai

nihongo|Hiroh Kikai|鬼海 弘雄|Kikai Hiroo|extra=born 18 March 1945 is a Japanese photographer best known for his monochrome portraits of people in the Asakusa area of Tokyo, a project he has pursued for over thirty years.

Early years

Kikai was born in the village of Daigo (now part of Sagae, Yamagata Prefecture) on 18 March 1945 as the seventh and last child (and fifth son) of the family. [Place of birth, siblings: Kōtarō Iizawa, “Kikai Hiroo” (nihongo2|鬼海弘雄), in "Japanīzu fotogurafāzu: 14nin no shashinka-tachi no “ima”" (nihongo2|ジャパニーズ・フォトグラファーズ：14人の写真家たちの「いま」) / "Japanese photographers" (Tokyo: Hakusuisha, 2005; ISBN 4-560-02705-6), p. 131. (Despite the book’s alternative English title, the text is all in Japanese. This article, which runs pp. 129–43, previously appeared in "Asahi Camera," November 2004, pp. 248–52.) Date of birth: “ [http://shomeido.jp/gallery/contents/exhibitions/exh2005/200501kikai/200501kikai.html Domon-Ken-shō jushō kinen Kikai Hiroo shashinten ‘Persona’] ” (nihongo2|土門拳賞受賞記念 鬼海弘雄写真展『Persona』, Hiroh Kikai photograph exhibition “Persona”, in celebration of the Domon Ken Award), Shōmeidō Gallery (松明堂ギャラリー), 2005 (accessed 5 March 2006).] He had a happy childhood, from the age of 11 or so preferring to play by himself in the nature that surrounded the village. [Noriyuki Kanda (nihongo2|神田憲行, "Kanda Noriyuki"), “Gendai no shōzō: Shashinka Kikai Hiroo: Jinsei no fuhen o toru to iu otoko” (nihongo2|現代の肖像：写真家鬼海弘雄：人生の普遍を撮るという男, A portrait of today: The photographer Hiroh Kikai: The man who photographs the universality of life), "Aera," 25 April 2005. p. 61 (the article runs pp. 59–63).] He graduated from high school in 1963 and worked in Yamagata for a year, and then went to Hosei University in Tokyo to study philosophy. As a student he was keen on the cinema — he particularly enjoyed the films of Andrzej Wajda, who would later contribute essays to some of his books, and Satyajit Ray — and has said that he would have worked in film production if it did not require writing, a task he has never enjoyed, and money, which he lacked. [Film tastes: Iizawa, “Kikai Hiroo”, p. 132. Film as a career: Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 63.]

Immediately after his graduation in 1968, [Both Kikai’s book "Perusona / Persona" (first impression, 2005, n.p.) and his "Tōkyō Mutan / Labyrinthos" (first impression, 2007, n.p.) say 1978, presumably first a typo or mistake and then inherited misinformation. His other books "India" (n.p.) and "Ya-Chimata" (n.p.) have him graduating in 1969. His book "In-between" 8 says 1968. (For details see “Books by Kikai”.) Kikai says that 1968 is correct (conversation, 3 March 2006).] Kikai worked as a truck driver; a year later he worked in a shipyard. Meanwhile he stayed in touch with his philosophy professor from his university days, Sadayoshi Fukuda, whose interests extended to writing a regular column for the magazine "Camera Mainichi"; he introduced Kikai to its editor, Shōji Yamagishi, who showed him photographs by Diane Arbus that made a great impact on Kikai. [Iizawa, “Kikai Hiroo”, pp. 132–3; Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 62.] Kikai started to take photographs in 1969. At that time (when a university graduate could expect to earn ¥40,000 per month), a Hasselblad SLR camera normally cost ¥600,000; Kikai heard of an opportunity to buy one for ¥320,000 and mentioned this to Fukuda, who immediately lent him the money, with no interest, and no date or pressure for repayment. (The loan was eventually repaid.) This Hasselblad 500CM, with its 80mm lens, is what Kikai has used for his portraits ever since. [Purchase and use of the Hasselblad: “Watashi kyō kinō ashita 24: Kikai Hiroo san” (nihongo2|わたし きょう きのう あした 24 鬼海弘雄さん, Me today yesterday tomorrow 24: Hiroh Kikai), "Croissant" no. 640, 10 July 2004, p. 98 (the article runs pp. 98–101).]

Photographic career

Kikai thought that work on a boat might be photogenic, but, having no experience, could not get a job on one. He was eventually accepted on a boat fishing for tuna when he displayed the scar from an unneeded appendectomy as evidence of one risk fewer that his presence might force the boat into port. [Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 62.] He worked on the boat in the Pacific from 6 April until 9 November 1972, with a stop in Manzanillo (Mexico) for provisions. It was during this time that he took his first photographs to be published, in the May 1973 issue of "Camera Mainichi." [Iizawa, “Kikai Hiroo”, p. 133; Kikai, “Sen’in techō bangō: Misaki 16000” (nihongo2|船員手帳番号：三崎16000) / “Seamen’s Registered Number: Misaki 16000”, "Camera Mainichi," May 1973, pp. 95–101 (the minimal text within the latter is in Japanese only, despite its secondary title in English).] In 1973 he won a prize for his submission to the 14th exhibition of the Japan Advertising Photographers’ Association.Sumiyo Mitsuhashi (nihongo2|三橋純予, Mitsuhashi Sumiyo), “Kikai Hiroo” (nihongo2|鬼海弘雄), "Nihon shashinka jiten" (nihongo2|日本写真家事典) / "328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers" (Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000; ISBN 4-473-01750-8), p. 98. (Despite its alternative title in English, the book is in Japanese only.)] But Kikai decided that in order to be a photographer he needed darkroom skills, and he returned to Tokyo to work at Doi Technical Photo (1973–6). [Iizawa, “Kikai Hiroo”, p. 134.] He became a freelance photographer in 1984, a year after his first solo exhibition and the same year as his second.

Living close to Asakusa (Tokyo), Kikai often went there on his days off, taking photographs of visitors. He stepped up his visits in 1985; a number of collections of his portraits taken there have been published.

Kikai’s other long-term photographic projects are of working and residential neighborhoods in and near Tokyo, and of people and scenes in India and Turkey. All these are black and white. However, his occasional diversions have included color photographs of the Gotō Islands and even of nudes. [Gotō islands: “Nihon o arukō (19): Kikai Hiroo to aruku (Nagasaki): Gotō rettō” (nihongo2|日本を歩こう [19] ；鬼海弘雄と歩く【長崎】：五島列島, Walking around Japan [19] : Walking with Hiroh Kikai [Nagasaki] : The Gotō islands), "Photo Contest," July 2006, pp. 4, 6, 8–16. Nudes: “Hareta hi ni” (nihongo2|晴れた日に) / “On clear day”, "Asahi Camera," July 2005, pp. 47–52.]

Unusually in Japan, where photographers tend to join or form groups, Kikai has never been in any group, preferring to work by himself. [Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 61.] When not setting out to take photographs, Kikai does not carry a camera with him. He leaves photographing his own family to his wife Noriko, and it is she who has the camera if they go on a trip together. [Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 63.]

In the early part of his career, Kikai often had to earn money in other ways: in 1980 he briefly worked at an Isuzu plant, in 1982 in a Subaru plant. [Kikai, "Ōtachi no shōzō / Ecce homo," n.p. (for details see “Books by Kikai”).]

Kikai taught for some time at Musashino Art University, but he was disappointed by the students’ lack of sustained effort and therefore quit. [Name of the university: “ [http://shomeido.jp/gallery/contents/exhibitions/exh2005/200501kikai/200501kikai.html Domon-Ken-shō jushō kinen Kikai Hiroo shashinten ‘Persona’] ”; this says that he started there in 1994. Dissatisfaction: “Watashi kyō kinō ashita 24”, p. 101.]

Asakusa portraits

; article runs p. 148–54).] He believes that to have a plain backdrop and a direct confrontation with the subject allows the viewer to see the subject as a whole, and as somebody on whom time is marked, without any distracting or limiting specificity. [“Watashi kyō kinō ashita 24”, p. 99; “Watakushi no naka no ‘Persona’”, p. 149.]

Though Kikai started to photograph in Asakusa simply because it was near where he then lived, he has continued because of the nature of the place and its visitors. Once a bustling and fashionable area, Asakusa long ago lost this status. If it were as popular and crowded as it was before the war, Kikai says, he would go somewhere else. [“Watakushi no naka no ‘Persona’”, p. 150.]

Published in 1987, "Ōtachi no shōzō / Ecce Homo" was the first collection of these portraits. It is a large-format book with portraits made in Asakusa in 1985–6. Kikai won the 1988 Newcomer’s Award of the Photographic Society of Japan (PSJ) for this book and the third Ina Nobuo Award for the accompanying exhibition. [PSJ award: PSJ, “ [http://www.psj.or.jp/psjaward/all.html Kako no jushōsha ichiran] ” (nihongo2|過去の受賞者一覧, List of past PSJ award-winners) (accessed 6 March 2006); PSJ, “ [http://www.psj.or.jp/psjaward/2004.htm 2004-nen Nihon Shashin Kyōkai-shō jushōsha] ” (nihongo2|2004年日本写真協会賞受賞者, PSJ prize-winners for 2004) (accessed 6 March 2006). Ina Nobuo Award: [http://www.nikon-image.com/jpn/activity/salon/awards/ina/winners/13.htm announcement of 13th Ina Nobuo award, 1988] (nihongo2|第13回（1988年）伊奈信男賞 鬼海弘雄写真展『王たちの肖像（浅草寺境内)』, 13th Ina Nobuo Award [1988] , Hiroh Kikai, "Ecce Homo"), Nikon (accessed 5 March 2006.) Also see "Ina Nobuo shō 20-nen: Nikon Saron ni miru gendai shashin no nenpu" (nihongo2|伊奈信男賞20年：ニコンサロンにみる現代写真の年譜) / "Ina Nobuo Award ’76–’95," Nikon Salon Books 23 (Tokyo: Nikon, 1996), with a few pages devoted to the works of each of the winners of the Ina Nobuo Award to date (Kikai is on pp. 96–101), and also lists of the exhibitions at the Ginza and Shinjuku Nikon Salons.]

In 1995, a number of portraits from the series were shown together with the works of eleven other photographers in “Tokyo/City of Photos”, one of a pair of opening exhibitions for the purpose-made building of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography."Tokyo/City of Photos," the published catalogue of the exhibition (for details see “Other works with contributions by Kikai”).]

"Ya-Chimata", published a year later, has a greater number of portraits printed more cheaply on smaller pages.

"Persona" (2003) is a further collection of portraits made in Asakusa. A few are from Kikai’s earliest work, but most postdate anything in the earlier books. Several of the subjects appear twice or more often, so the reader sees the effect of time. The book format is unusually large for a photograph collection in Japan, and the plates were printed via quadtone. [Kanda, “Gendai no shōzō”, p. 60.] The book won the 23rd Domon Ken Award and 2004 Annual Award of the PSJ. [Domon Ken Award: “ [http://photonavi.fc2web.com/domon_ken_syou.html Domon Ken–shō no rekishi to zen-jushō-shashinka] ” (nihongo2|土門拳賞の歴史と全受賞写真家, list of award-winners since 1982) (accessed 6 March 2006). PSJ award: “ [http://www.psj.or.jp/psjaward/2004.htm 2004-nen Nihon Shashin Kyōkai-shō jushōsha] ”.] A smaller-format edition with additional photographs followed two years later.

"Asakusa Portraits" (2008) is a large collection edited by the International Center of Photography (New York), published in conjunction with the ICP’s exhibition of recent Japanese photography and art “Heavy Light”. Kikai’s contribution to this exhibition was well received.Favorable reviews of Kikai’s photographs in “Heavy Light”: Roberta Smith, “ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/arts/design/13heav.html?_r=1&sq=hiroh%20kikai&st=cse&scp=2&pagewanted=all Japanese Culture, in Vivid Color] ”, "New York Times," 13 June 2008 (accessed 17 September 2008, requires registration but no payment); Heesun Wee, “ [http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/2008/08/photo_finish_in_1.php Summer’s photo finish with Atget, Evans, Kikai, Fusco] ”, "Newyorkology," 22 August 2008 (accessed 17 September 2008); “ [http://www.newyorker.com/arts/events/art/2008/06/30/080630goar_GOAT_art Goings On About Town] ”, "New Yorker," 30 June 2008 (accessed 17 September 2008).]

Portraits of spaces

s, instead judging a photograph by the negative alone. [Waiting for the unexpected, avoidance of contact prints: Kanda, “Kikai Hiroo no Tōkyō”.]

Samples from this series have appeared in various magazines from at least as early as 1976. [See for example “Nagi” (凪, Calm), "Camera Mainichi," June 1976, pp. 119–25.] Each photograph is simply captioned with the approximate address (in Japanese script) and year.

"Tōkyō meiro / Tokyo Labyrinth" (1999) presents portraits of unpeopled spaces in Tokyo (and occasionally the adjacent town of Kawasaki). There are individual shopfronts, rows of shops and residential streets. Most of the buildings are unpretentious. Like the Asakusa series, these portraits are monochrome and square, taken via a standard lens on 120 film. [Standard lens: afterword to "Tōkyō meiro / Tokyo Labyrinth."]

"Tōkyō mutan / Labyrinthos" (2007) — based on an essay/photograph series that ran in the monthly "Sōshi" (nihongo2|草思) from March 2004 to July 2005 and then in the web series “Tokyo Polka” ["Sōshi" is produced by Sōshisha, the publisher of "Labyrinthos." Some photographs within the book had also appeared elsewhere, e.g. issue 2 (October 2004) of "Tamaya" (nihongo2|たまや). “ [http://web.soshisha.com/archives/polka/index.php Tokyo Polka] ” was a series of essays, each illustrated with photographs (accessed 24 February 2006); as of 28 May 2007, the essays and photographs had been removed, leaving only a short description; earlier versions do not seem to be available via the Wayback Machine.) Continues in “ [http://web.soshisha.com/archives/yurayura/index.php Yurari-yurayura-ki] ”.] — presents more of the same. Between a single nude in a shopfront display from 1978 and a very young boy photographed in December 2006 (the latter appearing to share the Sensō-ji backdrop of "Persona"), are square monochrome views of Tokyo and Kawasaki, compositions that seem casual and rather disorderly, mostly of unpeopled scenes showing signs of intensive and recent use. The book also has Kikai’s essays from “Tokyo Polka”, essays that dwell on the inhabitants of Tokyo as observed during walks or on the train.

India

.) On Tokyo: “"Tōkyō Meiro" o megutte”, p. 115.]

"India", a large-format book published in 1992, presents photographs taken in India (and to a much lesser extent Bangladesh) over a period totalling rather more than a year and ranging from 1982 to 1990. It won high praise from the critic Kazuo Nishii, who commented that the India of Kikai’s work seems perpetually overcast, and that in their ambiguity his photographs seem to benefit from the work done in the Asakusa portrait series. [Kazuo Nishii, “Kikai Hiroo ("India")” (nihongo2|鬼海弘雄 『India』), in "Shashinteki kioku" (nihongo2|写真的記憶, Photographic memories) (Tokyo: Seikyūsha, 1997; ISBN 4-7872-7072-9), 173–77 (first appeared in an unspecified publication of Misuzu Shobō, November 1992).] The book won Kikai the 1993 Society of Photography Award. [Society of Photography, [http://www.shashin-no-kai.com/prize/index.html Awards, 1 (1989) – 10 (1998)] (accessed 4 April 2007).]

"Indo ya Gassan" (“India and Gassan”, 1999) is a collection of essays about and photographs of India. Gassan is a mountain in central Yamagata close to where Kikai was brought up; in his essays, Kikai muses on India and compares it with the Yamagata of his youth.

"Shiawase / Shanti" (2001) is a collection of photographs that concentrates on children, most of which were taken in Allahabad, Benares, Calcutta, Puri and Delhi in 2000. [Afterword, "Shiawase / Shanti" (for details see “Books by Kikai”).] It won the Grand Prix of the second Photo City Sagamihara Festival.“ [http://shomeido.jp/gallery/contents/exhibitions/exh2005/200501kikai/200501kikai.html Domon-Ken-shō jushō kinen Kikai Hiroo shashinten ‘Persona’] ”.]

Photography elsewhere

Kikai has visited Turkey several times; photographs of Turkey have appeared in the magazine "Asahi Camera". [As installments of “Anatoria kikō” (nihongo2|アナトリア紀行) / “A Journey to Anatolia” , "Asahi Camera," June 2001, pp. 55–61; January 2003, pp. 72–9; March 2006, pp. 68–75.]

Kikai was one of thirteen Japanese photographers invited by EU-Japan Fest to photograph the twenty-six nations of the European Union; he spent twenty-one days in Malta in September 2005 and a short period in Portugal in October 2004, travelling widely in both countries. [Length of stay in Malta: Hiroh Kikai, "In-between" 8, n.p. (for details see “Books by Kikai”). Month and year: Kikai, “Porutogaru kikō” (nihongo2|ポルトガル紀行) / “My Portugal”, "Nippon Camera," December 2005, p. 16. ] In color, these photographs are a departure from his earlier work. Most are more or less candid photographs of people. A collection was published as the eighth in a series of fourteen volumes, "In-between."

In 2007 Kikai visited Havana; a series of color photographs appeared in "Asahi Camera." [Kikai, “Habana no heijitsu” (nihongo2|ハバナの平日) / “Ordinary Days in Havana, Cuba, 2007”, "Asahi Camera," October 2007, pp. 47–56.]

Exhibitions

Supplementary English titles in parentheses are nonce translations for this article; those outside parentheses and in quotation marks were used at the time.

* [A] : Asakusa portraits
* [I] : India
* [T] : Tokyo spaces

Selected solo exhibitions

*“Nagi: Machinaka no kōkei” (nihongo2|凪：町中の光景, Calm: Town scenes). Konishiroku Photo Gallery (Shinjuku, Tokyo), August–September 1983. [“Shashinten purebyū” (nihongo2|写真展プレビュー) / “Photo Exhibition Guide”, "Nippon Camera," September 1983, p.130. (Other lists of Kikai’s past exhibitions give the place as “Konica Photo Gallery” or “Konica Photo Plaza”; these are anachronistic.)]
*“Indo kikō” (nihongo2|インド紀行, India travelogue). [I] Doi Photo Plaza Shibuya (Shibuya, Tokyo), August 1984; Art Plaza (Fukuoka), August 1984; Gallery Antomeru (Sendai), September 1984; Yamagata, 1984. [Shibuya: “Shashinten gaido” (nihongo2|写真展ガイド, Photo exhibition guide), "Asahi Camera," August 1984, p.13. Fukuoka, Sendai: “Shashinten gaido”, "Asahi Camera," September 1984, pp. 14, 16. In "Ōtachi no shōzō" / "Ecce homo" (n.p.), Kikai lists the Fukuoka exhibition as more specifically in Hakata. “Antomeru” is a transliteration of アントメル. Yamagata: “ [http://tukiyama.jp/yamagatan/famous/?p=log&l=6880&c= Kikai Hiroo, "Indo ya gassan" shashinka] ” (nihongo2|鬼海弘雄 《印度や月山》写真家), "Yamagata no yūmeijin" (nihongo2|山形の有名人) 2005 (accessed 25 May 2008), not specifying the gallery.] 　
*“Ōtachi no shōzō (Sensōji keidai)” (nihongo2|王たちの肖像（浅草寺境内）, Portraits of kings [in the grounds of Sensō-ji] ). [A] Ginza Nikon Salon (Ginza, Tokyo), September 1988. [Ginza Nikon Salon: "Ina Nobuo shō 20-nen," p.154; Kōtarō Iizawa, “Shashin no seitōteki na hyōgen ni deau” (nihongo2|写真の正統的な表現に出会う), "Shashin no genzai: Kuronikuru 1983–1992" (nihongo2|写真の現在：クロニクル1983～1992) (Tokyo: Miraisha, 1993; ISBN 4-624-71061-4), pp.208–209 (essay first appeared in "Photo Contest," November 1988).] 　
*“Dai-13 Ina Nobuo shō jushō sakuhinten: Kikai Hiroo ‘Ōtachi no shōzō (Sensōji keidai)’” (nihongo2|第13 伊奈信男賞受賞作品展・鬼海弘雄「王たちの肖像（浅草寺境内）」, Exhibition of works winning the 13th Ina Nobuo Award: Hiroh Kikai, Portraits of kings [in the grounds of Sensō-ji] ). [A] Ginza Nikon Salon (Ginza, Tokyo); Osaka; Kyoto; etc., 1988–89.Ginza Nikon Salon: "Ina Nobuo shō 20-nen," p.154. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, etc.: “Kikai Hiroo, "Indo ya gassan" shashinka” (specifying the cities but not the galleries).] 　
*“Dai-13-kai Ina Nobuo shō jushō sakuhinten: Kikai Hiroo ‘Kanshō: Machi no katachi’” (nihongo2|第13回伊奈信男賞受賞作品展・鬼海弘雄「観照：町のかたち」, Exhibition of works winning the 13th Ina Nobuo Award: Hiroh Kikai, Meditation: Town shapes). [T] Osaka Nikon Salon, February 1990; Ginza Nikon Salon (Ginza, Tokyo), March 1990; Kyoto; etc., 1990. [Ginza: "Ina Nobuo shō 20-nen," p.154. Osaka and Ginza: “Shashinten gaido” (nihongo2|写真展ガイド), / “Gallery Guide”, "Asahi Camera," March 1990, pp. 135, 132. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, etc.: “Kikai Hiroo, "Indo ya gassan" shashinka” (specifying the cities but not the galleries).] 　
*“Ecce Homo”. [A] Robert Koch Gallery (San Francisco), 1993."Tokyo/City of Photos," n.p.] 　
*“Indo kikō” (nihongo2|インド紀行, India travelogue). [I] Shōmeidō Gallery (Kodaira), 1998.“Kikai Hiroo, "Indo ya gassan" shashinka”.]
*“Persona (1)”. [A] Centrum Sztuki i Techniki Japońskiej “Manggha” (Kraków), 1999.Kikai, "In-between" 8, n.p.]
* “Shashin to insatsu hyōgen” (nihongo2|写真と印刷表現, Photographs and printing expression). [T] Mitsumura Art Plaza (Ōsaki, Tokyo), February–March 2000. [“ [http://www.mitsumura.co.jp/map/history.html Exhibition history] ”, Mitsumura Printing Company (accessed 25 May 2008).]
*“Persona (2)”. [A] Centrum Sztuki i Techniki Japońskiej “Manggha” (Kraków), November–December 2002. [ [http://www.fotopolis.pl/index.php?g=61 Miesiąc Fotografii w Krakowie] (accessed 25 May 2008); Kikai, "In-between" 8, n.p.] 　
*“Persona”. [A] Ginza Nikon Salon (Tokyo); Osaka; Domon Ken Photography Museum (Sakata), 2004. [Kikai, "In-between" 8, n.p.; "Tokyo/City of Photos," n.p.] 　
*“Persona”. [A] Galeria Fotografii PF, Centrum Kultury “Zamek” (Poznań), February–March 2005. [“ [http://www.fotopolis.pl/index.php?n=2654 Hiro Kikai w Galerii PF] ”; fotopolis.pl (accessed 9 March 2006); Marta Newelska, Marta. “ [http://www.creativa.amu.edu.pl/kultura/kikai.html O, ludzie!] ”, "Japonica Creativa" (accessed 9 March 2006).]
*“Persona”. [A] Shōmeidō Gallery (Kodaira) January 2005.
*“Perusona” (nihongo2|ぺるそな). [A] Ginza Nikon Salon (Ginza, Tokyo), February–March 2006; Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka), April 2006. [ [http://www.nikon-image.com/jpn/activity/salon/exhibition/2006/03_ginza-1.htm “Perusona” (Tokyo)] , [http://www.nikon-image.com/jpn/activity/salon/exhibition/2006/04_osaka-1.htm “Perusona” (Osaka)] , Nikon (accessed 25 May 2008).]
*“Tōkyō mutan” (nihongo2|東京夢譚, Tokyo dreams). [T] Ginza Nikon Salon (Ginza, Tokyo), September 2007; Osaka Nikon Salon (Osaka), October 2007. [ [http://www.nikon-image.com/jpn/activity/salon/exhibition/2007/09_ginza-1.htm “Tōkyō mutan” (Tokyo)] , [http://www.nikon-image.com/jpn/activity/salon/exhibition/2007/10_osaka-1.htm “Tōkyō mutan” (Osaka)] , Nikon (accessed 25 May 2008).]
*“Tokyo Labyrinth”. [T] Yancey Richardson Gallery (New York City), September–October 2008.“ [http://www.re-title.com/exhibitions/YANCEYRICHARDSON.asp Yancey Richardson presents Masao Yamamoto: Kawa ~ Flow | Hiroh Kikai: Tokyo Labyrinth] ”, re-title.com (accessed 15 September 2008)]

Selected group exhibitions

*“The Hitachi Collection of Contemporary Japanese Photography”. Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona, 1988. ["Tokyo/City of Photos," n.p.; Kikai, "India," n.p. (for the latter book see “Books by Kikai”).] 　　
*“Nyū dokyumentsu 1990” (nihongo2|ニュー・ドキュメンツ 1990) / “New Documents 1990”. Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (Toyama), 1990.
*“Shashin toshi Tōkyō” (nihongo2|写真都市Tokyo) / “Tokyo/City of Photos”. [A] (Other photographers exhibited were Takanobu Hayashi, Ryūji Miyamoto, Daidō Moriyama, Shigeichi Nagano, Ikkō Narahara, Mitsugu Ōnishi, Masato Seto, Issei Suda, Akihide Tamura, Tokuko Ushioda, and Hiroshi Yamazaki.) Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995.　
*“Shashin wa nani o katareru ka” (nihongo2|写真は何を語れるか。What can photographs say?). [I] Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, June; Osaka Umeda Canon Salon, July; Fukuoka Canon Salon, August; Nagoya Canon Salon, September; Sapporo Canon Salon, October; Sendai Canon Salon, November 1997. [“Shashin wa nani o katareru ka” (nihongo2|写真は何を語れるか) (Tokyo: Canon, 1997 ), 3.]
*“Tōkyō meiro / Andesu Kuero”(nihongo2|東京迷路・アンデスケロ村) / “Tokyo Labyrinth / Andes Qero”. [T] (With Yoshiharu Sekino, who exhibited photographs taken in the Andes.) Shōmeidō Gallery (Kodaira), July 2007. [“ [http://shomeido.jp/gallery/contents/exhibitions/exh2007/200711kikai_sekino/200711kikai_sekino.html Kikai Hiroo / Sekino Yoshiharu shashinten ‘Tōkyō meiro / Andesu Kuero-mura’] ” (nihongo2|鬼海弘雄・関野吉晴　写真展「東京迷路・アンデスケロ村」, Hiroh Kikai / Yoshiharu Sekino photograph exhibition “Tokyo labyrinth / Andes Qero”), Shōmeidō Gallery, 2007 (accessed 25 May 2008).]
*“Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan”. [A] International Center of Photography (New York), May–September 2008. [“ [http://www.icp.org/site/c.dnJGKJNsFqG/b.3962161/ Heavy Light] ”, ICP, 2008 (accessed 5 June 2008).]

Permanent collections

Kikai's prints are held by the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography the Center for Creative Photography (University of Arizona, Tucson), Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin), and the Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (Japan).

Publications

Books by Kikai

*"Ōtachi no shōzō: Sensō-ji keidai" (nihongo2|王たちの肖像：浅草寺境内) / "Ecce homo: Portraits of kings". Yokohama: Yatate, 1987. Photograph collection, with captions in Japanese and English, and an essay by Sadayoshi Fukuda. There are forty-one monochrome plates.
*"India." Tokyo: Misuzu Shobō, 1992. ISBN 4-622-04385-8. Photograph collection, with text (by Kikai and Munesuke Mita) in Japanese and English, and captions in English. There are 106 monochrome plates (all “landscape” format).
*"Ya-Chimata: Ōtachi no kairō" (nihongo2|や・ちまた：王たちの回廊, Ya-Chimata: A gallery of kings). Tokyo: Misuzu Shobō, 1996. ISBN 4-622-04409-9. Photograph collection, with text (by Kikai and ten other writers) in Japanese only. There are 183 monochrome plates.
*"Tōkyō meiro" (nihongo2|東京迷路) / "Tokyo Labyrinth". Tokyo: Shōgakukan, 1999. ISBN 4-09-681241-2. Photograph collection, with text (by Andrzej Wajda, Genpei Akasegawa, and Suehiro Tanemura) in Japanese only. There are 108 monochrome plates.
*"Indo ya Gassan" (nihongo2|印度や月山, India and Gassan). Tokyo: Hakusuisha, 1999. ISBN 4-560-04928-9. Thirty essays and forty-one photographs; text in Japanese only. The monochrome photographs are a mixture of “landscape” (across two pages) and “portrait” (on single pages).
*"Shiawase: Indo daichi no kodomo-tachi" (nihongo2|しあわせ：インド大地の子どもたち) / "Shanti: Children of India". Tokyo: Fukuinkan, 2001. ISBN 4-8340-1779-6. Photograph collection (all monochrome): thirteen “landscape” photographs across both pages; and ninety-four “portrait”. There are no captions, and the text is in Japanese only.
*"Persona." Tokyo: Sōshisha, 2003. ISBN 4-7942-1240-2. Photograph collection, with captions and text (by Andrzej Wajda, Suehiro Tanemura, and Kikai) in both Japanese and English. Between an additional plate at the front and back, there are twelve plates of in a prefatory section (photographs taken well before the others), and in the body of the book twenty-eight plates four to a page and 138 plates on their own pages.
*"Perusona" (nihongo2|ぺるそな) / "Persona". Tokyo: Sōshisha, 2005. ISBN 4-7942-1450-2. Second, popular edition of the 2003 "Persona" in a smaller format. There are additional essays and photographs by Kikai; captions in both Japanese and English, other text in Japanese only. The twelve prefatory plates of the first edition and 191 plates of the main series are each presented on a separate page; there are also three more plates of photographs outside the series.
*"In-between" 8: "Kikai Hiroo Porutogaru, Maruta" (nihongo2|In-between 8 鬼海弘雄 ポルトガル、マルタ) / "In-between," 8: "Hiroh Kikai, Portugal, Malta." Tokyo: EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee, 2005. ISBN 4-903152-07-3. Photograph collection; captions and text in both Japanese and English. There are twenty-eight photographs of Portugal and twenty-seven of Malta.
*"Tōkyō mutan" (nihongo2|東京夢譚) / "Labyrinthos." Tokyo: Sōshisha, 2007. ISBN 4-7942-1572-X. Collection of 118 photographs and essays; captions (for each, the approximate address and the year) and essays are in Japanese only.
*"Asakusa Portraits." New York: International Center of Photography; Göttingen: Steidl, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86521-601-4. Photograph collection; captions and texts in English only. With an interview of Kikai by Noriko Fuku, essays by Kikai (translated from "Perusona") and an essay on Asakusa by Hiromichi Hosoma.

Other books with contributions by Kikai

*"Heavy Light: Recent Photography and Video from Japan." New York: International Center of Photography; Göttingen: Steidl, 2008. ISBN 978-3-86521-623-6. Captions and texts in English only.
*"In-between: 13-nin no shashinka 25-kakoku" (nihongo2|In-between 13人の写真家 25ヶ国) / "In-between: 13 photographers, 25 nations." Tokyo: EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee, 2005. ISBN 4-903152-13-8. Kikai is one of the thirteen in this supplementary collection of photographs in six themes (“Stones and walls”, “Words”, etc.); captions and text in both Japanese and English.
*"Literatura na świecie" (Warsaw, ISSN 0324-8305) number 1–3, 2002. This special issue on Japanese literature, "Japonia", is illustrated with photographs by Kikai, taken from "Ya-Chimata" and "Tōkyō meiro / Tokyo Labyrinth". Text in Polish.
*Miyako Harumi. "Messēji" (nihongo2|メッセージ) / "The Message." Tokyo: Juritsusha, 2006. ISBN 4-901769-41-3. A book of which about half consists of quotations from interviews with the "enka" singer Harumi Miyako, and the other half of color photographs by Kikai. The photographs are not described or identified; a handful are of Miyako but most are of sea and provincial views. (In many, the scenes are recognizably of the Kumano area just west of Kumanogawa, Wakayama.) The text is all in Japanese.
*"Shashin toshi Tōkyō" (nihongo2|写真都市Tokyo) / "Tokyo/City of Photos." Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, 1995. Catalogue of an exhibition held in 1995. Plates 113–29, admirably printed, are from Kikai’s series of Asakusa portraits. Captions and texts in both Japanese and English.
*Ueda Makoto. "Shūgō jūtaku monogatari" (nihongo2|集合住宅物語, The story of collective housing). Tokyo: Misuzu, 2004. ISBN 4-622-07086-3. A book about collective housing in Japan from the Dōjunkai buildings onward, with 165 illustrative color photographs, all by Kikai. (Some monochrome photographs are older and are by other photographers.) The text, by Ueda, is in Japanese only. Content previously (1997–2001) published in "Tokyojin."

Notes

External links

*“ [http://www.fotopolis.pl/index.php?n=2654 Hiro Kikai w Galerii PF] ”. About the opening of a show of Kikai’s work, “Persona”, in Poznań at the Gallery PF, on 8 February 2005. With two photographs from the series. pl icon Accessed 9 March 2006.
* [http://www.eu-japanfest.org/english/program/13/japan/in_between08.html "In-between" 8] (publisher’s page): with two sample photographs. en icon Accessed 24 February 2006.
*Kikai Hiroh. [http://web.soshisha.com/archives/yurayura/index.php Yurari-yurayura-ki] (nihongo2|ゆらりゆらゆら記). A series of essays, each illustrated with photographs. ja icon Accessed 28 May 2007.
*“ [http://fotonoma.jp/photographer/2007_02kikai/index.html Kikai Hiroo] ”, "Shashin shika dekinai koto" (nihongo2|写真しかできないこと), "The Photographer" 2007. Fujifilm. Samples of Kikai's work. ja icon Accessed 5 June 2008.
*Mirapaul, Evan. “ [http://fugitivevision.blogspot.com/2007/11/musings-from-trip-to-japan-iii-kikai.html Musings from a Trip to Japan (III) Kikai] .” "Fugitive Vision," 13 November 2007. Mirapaul comments on the Asakusa portrait series. en icon Accessed 25 May 2008.
* [http://www.soshisha.com/book_wadai/09persona/ "Persona"] (publisher’s page for the second edition): with twenty-four sample photographs. ja icon Accessed 24 February 2006.
* [http://www.fukuinkan.co.jp/detail_page/4-8340-1779-6.html "Shanti"] (publisher’s page): with two sample photographs. ja icon Accessed 24 February 2006.
* [http://skygarden.shogakukan.co.jp/skygarden/owa/solrenew_detail?isbn=4096812412 "Tokyo Labyrinth"] (publisher’s page): with three sample photographs. ja icon Accessed 24 February 2006.