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2013, Jan 08
A few Japanese reactions to Shomei Tomatsu’s passing

Here some translations of reactions on Twitter to the sad news regarding Shomei Tomatsu. (The original Japanese is linked after.) Just one personal note: Tomatsu was given an incredible name for a photographer, as Shomei (照明) literally means “light,” as in “illumination.” His real name was actually Teruaki, but that’s just a different reading the same characters.

Kenji Takazawa, critic

Shomei Tomatsu. Definitely a great figure of post-war Japanese photography. I wish him happiness in the next world. [J 1] I have the still-fresh memory of reading an article in the September 2012 issue of Nihon Camera about a workshop in Okinawa that Tomatsu gave to young photographers on digital photography. The reporter was Keizo Kitajima. “He’s still got energy,” I even thought to myself. [J 2] Yasuhiro Ishimoto, Masahisa Fukase and Tomatsu all passed away last year. It’s a little trite to say, but it feels like the turning point of an age… [J 3]

Yuhki Touyama, photographer

I’m thinking about the seminar I went to 10 years ago in Okinawa. Glad I was able to go. [J 4]

Kiyoshi Inoue, photographer

Shomei Tomatsu has passed away. He was a photographer I greatly respected. He pursued the clear perception of the times and photographic expression. I only met him once, but I won’t forget his magnetism as a photographer.  [J 5]

Kyohei Sakaguchi, architect/writer

Shomei Tomatsu passed away… When I was in high school I wanted to be a photographer, so I was excited whenever I could see a photobook. After I came to Tokyo I saw “Oh! Shinjuku” in a library and was immediately even more excited. Yep, I originally wanted to be a photographer. I still have a photobook I made in high school, lol. But really, lol. [J 6]


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Shomei Tomatsu

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