The was a group based in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

from 1930 until 1941 that promoted

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

and, toward the end, socially concerned photography. The group was founded around the photographer Bizan Ueda, among photographers who bought their supplies from the Tampei Pharmacy (, ''Tanpei yakkyoku'') in

Shinsaibashi is a district in the Chūō-ku ward of Osaka, Japan and the city's main shopping area. At its center is , a covered shopping street, that is north of Dōtonbori and Sōemonchō, and parallel and east of Mido-suji street. Associated with Shins ...

, Osaka. The founding members included

Terushichi Hirai was one of the most prominent Japanese photographers in the first half of the 20th century in Japan. As an amateur photographer, he was very energetic in photography groups, such as Naniwa Photography Club (, ''Naniwa Shashin Kurabu'') and Tampe ...

, Kōrō Honjō and

Tōru Kōno was a Japanese photographer. Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, editor. . Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. He was born on August 29 in Tenoji district in Osaka City, Japan. He graduated the Yao City Public Secondary School in 1927. It was aroun ...

; these were soon augmented by

Kaneyoshi Tabuchi was a renowned Japanese photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties ...

Nakaji Yasui (15 December 1903 – 15 March 1942) was one of the most prominent photographers in the first half of the 20th century in Japan. Life Yasui was born in Osaka and became a member of the Naniwa Photography Club (, ''Naniwa Shashin Kurabu'') in ...

, and others. The group's first exhibition was held in 1931 but it was the second exhibition, in 1932, that caused a stir, with avant-garde works. The club exhibited frequently; its first exhibition in

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 ...

held in 1935. The club's 23rd exhibition, in March 1941, featured a series titled ''Refugee Jews'' (, ''Ryūbō Yudaya'') of 22 photographs depicted exiles from eastern Europe who were living in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

. Six of these were by Yasui, who had instigated two photography sessions for it earlier that month.''Tanjō hyakunen: Yasui Nakaji: Shashin no subete'' / ''Nakaji Yasui 1903–1942: The Photography,'' p. 136; the same book shows a larger number of Yasui's own photographs in the series are shown on pp. 136–42. The club was forced to close later that year. The club reemerged after the war, but did not regain its prominence.

Notes

References

*''Nihon shashinka jiten'' (, ''328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers''). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. . P. 346. *''Tanjō hyakunen: Yasui Nakaji: Shashin no subete'' (誕生百年：安井仲治写真：写真のすべて) / ''Nakaji Yasui 1903–1942: The Photography.'' 2004. No publisher specified, but presumably one or more of the

Shoto Museum of Art Shoto or Shōtō may refer to: * Shoto (sword), a Japanese sword Places * Shoto-ko, a former name of Songdo Point in North Korea * Shōtō, Shibuya, a residential district of Tokyo, Japan Fictional characters * Shoto Todoroki, a character in ...

(Tokyo), the

Nagoya City Art Museum The is located in the city of Nagoya in central Japan. The museum building itself was constructed by Kisho Kurokawa, one of the leading Japanese architects, from 1983 to 1987. Works by the surrealist Kansuke Yamamoto, Sean Scully, and Alexand ...

(Nagoya), and

Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 millio ...

(Tokyo); the first two hosted a centenary exhibition of Yasui's works. Paperback. Also: ''Yasui Nakaji shashinshū'' (安井仲治写真集) / ''Nakaji Yasui: Photographer 1903–1942.'' Tokyo: Kyodo News, 2004. . Hardback. The catalogue for the Shoto/Nagoya exhibition of 2004/2005; text in both Japanese and English. Despite their different titles, the two books seem to be virtually identical. *Tucker, Anne Wilkes, et al. ''The History of Japanese Photography.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. {{ISBN, 0-300-09925-8. Pp. 375. Japanese photography organizations Arts organizations established in 1930 Culture in Osaka