was a Japanese
photographer
A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs.
Duties and types of photographe ...
who specialized in the photography of horses.
Biography
Born in Tokyo in 1931, Imai graduated from
Bunka Gakuin
is a Japanese vocational school. It opened in 1921 as the first co-educational school in Japan.
Alumni
* Hisae Imai
* Takako Irie
* Liu Chi-hsiang
* Yoko Mizuki
* Akiko Santo
* Akira Terao
*Mitsu Yashima
* Guan Zilan
Guan Zilan (; January ...
() in 1952. Her father owned a photography studio in the Matsuya department store in
Ginza
Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...
, and after graduation she was encouraged to go into photography as well.
She had her first solo exhibition in 1956 and went on to win several awards such as the Newcomer's Award from the Photographic Society of Japan and the Camera Geijutsu Art Award.
In 1962 Imai was in a car accident that left her temporarily blind for a year and a half, which left her unable to create photographs.
After the accident,
Shuji Terayama invited her to watch a horse race with him. She was very moved by the horses, and after meeting the racehorse
Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...
in 1970, she took up photography again.
From the 1970s onward, most of her numerous solo exhibitions were of photographs of horses.
Imai died in a hospital in
Shinjuku
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...
on 17 February 2009.
Permanent collections
Imai's photographs are represented in the permanent collections of:
*
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
The is an art museum concentrating on photography.
As the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, it was founded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and is in Meguro-ku, a short walk from Ebisu station in southwest Tokyo. The museum al ...
*
Nihon University
, abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...
*
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York City
*
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
(Paris)
*
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (''Museum of Art and Design Hamburg'') is a museum of fine, applied and decorative arts in Hamburg, Germany. It is located centrally, near the Hauptbahnhof.
History
The museum was founded in 1874, foll ...
*
Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art
, in Yamaguchi City is the main art gallery of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
Opened in 1979, the gallery has a permanent collection, part of which is exhibited at any one time, and also hosts special exhibitions.
The gallery's photographic collec ...
*
Kawasaki City Museum
*
Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts
Further reading
*
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imai, Hisae
1931 births
2009 deaths
Japanese photographers
Japanese women photographers
People from Tokyo