was a Japanese photographer notable for his work in

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

. Tamura was born in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. Shigeru was an assumed name; Tamura's personal name was probably Torashige.The reference books agree that his original name was , but none yet seen specifies the reading of . Its most obvious reading is Torashige. He studied photography at the Oriental School of Photography (, ''Orientaru Shashin Gakkō''); graduating in 1929. With Yoshio Watanabe, in 1935 he set up a studio for advertising and other photography 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 ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He was highly successful as a fashion photographer, notably in work for the magazine '' Fujin Gahō'' from 1937. Together with

Ken Domon is one of the most renowned Japanese photographers of the 20th century. He is most celebrated as a photojournalist, though he may have been most prolific as a photographer of Buddhist temples and statuary. Biography Domon was born in Sakata, Y ...

and others, he set up the Young People's Photojournalism Research Society (Seinen Hōdōshashin Kenkyūkai) in 1938. Tamura emerged from the war as a photographer of social issues in Japan, approaching them from a pacifist and left-wing angle. He also traveled, producing books on the Arab world and

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

. In 1963 he set up the Japan Realist Photographers Association (Nihon Riarizumu Shashin Shūdan). In the 1970s Tamura documented the topography and cultural patrimony of Japan. He died in 1987.

Note

Books by Tamura

* ''Gendai Nihon no hyakunin'' (). Tokyo: Bungei Shunju, 1953. * ''Arabu no shinjitsu'' (). Text by Kai Shizuma (). Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1958. * ''Kita Betonamu no shōgen: Mina koroshi sakusen no jittai'' (). Tokyo: Shin Nihon Shuppansha, 1967. * ''Minna ga eiyū: Shashin de miru Kita-Betonamu hōkoku'' (). Tokyo: Mainichi Shinbunsha, 1965. * ''Chibetto'' (). Tokyo: Kenkōsha, 1966. * ''Nihon no fūdo to bunka'' (). Tokyo: Kenkōsha, 1976. * ''Waga kamera no sengoshi'' (, My postwar photographic story). Tokyo: Shin Nihon Shuppansha, 1982. A survey of Tamura's work. * ''Tamura Shigeru no shashin jinsei'' (). Tokyo: Shin Nihon Shuppansha, 1986. . * ''Gudō no shashinka Tamura Shigeru'' (). Tokyo: Kōyō Shuppansha, 1990. .

Sources and links

* ''Nihon shashinka jiten'' () / ''328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers.'' Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. * ''Shashinka 100-nin: Kao to sakuhin'' () / ''100 photographers, profiles and photographs.'' Special 20th anniversary supplement to ''

Camera Mainichi is a Japanese monthly magazine of photography that started in June 1954 and ceased publication in April 1985.Mari Shirayama, "Major Photography Magazines", pp. 378–385 of Anne Wilkes Tucker, ed., ''The History of Japanese Photography'' ...

,'' 1974.
Shigeru Tamura
at PhotoGuide Japan 1909 births 1987 deaths Japanese photojournalists People from Sapporo Photography in Vietnam {{Japan-photographer-stub