was a renowned

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese amateur

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 ...

, particularly in the 1930s. was born in

Kumagaya is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,277 in 87,827 households and a population density of 1200 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Kumagaya is one of the largest c ...

, Saitama on 1 November 1911. From the age of thirteen Satō had a Thornton reflex camera; on his graduation from school he took photographs in his free time from his work in a bicycle wholesaler. He was given the ''nom de guerre'' when young. From 1931 his photographs appeared in ''

Camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

'' and '' Shashin Geppō,'' and from 1933 in '' Shashin Salon.'' Satō's works were selected for the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1940. After the war, Satō changed the characters for Kōji from to . An energetic and widely exhibited portraitist before and during the war, Satō turned his camera to his parents and his children after the war. Satō died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on 30 May 1955. Some of Satō's photographs are in the permanent collection of the

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 also ...

, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and Shimane Art Museum.''The Photographs of Koji Sato.''

Published photographs

*''Nihon kindai shashin no seiritsu to tenkai'' () / ''The Founding and Development of Modern Photography in Japan.'' Tokyo: Tokyo Museum of Photography, 1995. Plate 122: "Man in black cape" (, ''Kuromanto no otoko''), 1937. *''Satō Kōji no shashin'' () / ''The Photographs of Koji Sato.'' N.p.: Kenji Satō, 2001. Captions and text in Japanese and English.

Notes

References

* Kaneko Ryūichi (). "Satō Kōji". ''Nihon shashinka jiten'' () / ''328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers.'' Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. . Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese. P. 155. * ''Nihon no shashinka'' () / ''Biographic Dictionary of Japanese Photography.'' Tokyo: Nichigai Associates, 2005. . Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese. Pp. 196–7. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Koji Japanese photographers Portrait photographers 1911 births 1955 deaths Artists from Saitama Prefecture 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Japan