For the 76th album in his collection " 100 photos for freedom of the press "Reporters Without Borders is putting Japan in the spotlight for the first time through 14 big names in photography.
Since 1992, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published one to three volumes each year dedicated to a major photographer who redefines the world through their lens. The NGO, founded in 1985 by journalists Robert Ménard, Rémy Loury, Jacques Molénat, and Émilien Jubineau, sometimes broadens the scope of its work to include various themes, such as nature, football, the Cannes Film Festival, jazz, road trips, and, more recently, trees and the sea. Very few countries have yet had the honor of being the subject of an album: until now, only India had been featured, as seen through the lens of renowned photographers from the Magnum agency. Japan, therefore, takes center stage in the collection for the first time, through the eyes of 14 photographic icons.
BETWEEN BEAUTY AND COMPLEXITY
The choice of the Land of the Rising Sun is not insignificant. According to Thibaut Bruttin, deputy director general, in the editorial, " The archipelago of over 10,000 islands and 125 million inhabitants sells 45 million newspapers daily. This record masks the difficulties facing journalism in a country ranked only 70th in RSF's World Press Freedom Index. Based on this observation, the selection aims to highlight the diversity of voices and perspectives "A handful of renowned men and women to show through images" this free and pluralistic journalism ».
In Japan, Daido Moriyama and Ken Domon have established themselves as masters of photography. Moriyama explores the vibrant streets of Tokyo through his powerful and unconventional aesthetic, while Domon immerses us in the scars left by the survivors of Hiroshima. The atmosphere is different with Masahisa Fukase, who displays his tormented obsession with his wife, his family, and his cats. Toshio Shibata, for his part, challenges the conventions of landscape photography, focusing on the aesthetic consequences of urbanization and the economic boom.
A few Japanese women have also been able to bring their vision to life behind the lens. This is the case with Miyako Ishiuchi, winner of the 2024 Women in Motion Award, who documents the traces of the American occupation during the Vietnam War in the places of her childhood. And also with Hitomi Watanabe, who captures the student protests of 1970s Tokyo up close.
PLURAL AND FRAGMENTARY PANORAMA
Among these diverse perspectives, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has selected five prominent French photographers. First, Henri Cartier-Bresson, who takes us along on his "decisive moments" in the heart of the archipelago. Françoise Huguier captures the urban energy, while also portraying, with her friend, film critic Serge Daney, the great directors Nagisa Oshima, Akira Kurosawa, and Shohei Imamura. Charles Fréger's approach is more folkloric, celebrating the masked figures who enliven local festivals and rituals, while Julie Glassberg transports us into the world of dekotora (decoration trucks), those ultra-decorated and illuminated Japanese trucks driven by passionate enthusiasts. Finally, Pierre-Elie de Pibrac unveils intimate portraits of anonymous individuals adrift in life.
RSF completes this partial panorama with the Swiss Werner Bischof, who captures the vivid and timeless in cities and countryside, temples and sacred places, as well as with the Russian Georgui Pinkhassov who experiments with the forms of Tokyo in a burst of colors thanks to his mastery of framing and light.
This 76th album offers a truly wide range of representations, enhanced by texts from novelist Amélie Nothomb and journalist Emil Pacha Valencia. Fourteen perspectives, fourteen fragments, fourteen truths about Japan.
A LOOK AT JAPAN – “100 PHOTOS FOR FREEDOM” COLLECTION
FROM THE PRESS, RSF EDITIONS, JUNE 2024
RSF.ORG
