is a Japanese photographer. He was born 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 37.46 ...
on 13 March 1947 as Shigeru Tamura (, ''Tamura Shigeru'').
[Akihide Tamura should not be confused with the well-known photographer Shigeru Tamura (1909–87), whose name is even written with the same '']kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...
.'' (Perhaps part of the reason for the younger Tamura's change of name was to avoid this very confusion.) He studied at
Tokyo College of Photography
The was set up in Nakano, Tokyo in 1958, as Tokyo Photo School (, ''Tōkyō Foto Sukūru''); its current name dates from 1960. During the 1960s, it moved to Hiyoshi (Yokohama), where it has remained.
Notable graduates
* Tadasuke Akiyama
* Takan ...
, graduating first in 1967 and then from a more advanced course two years later.
Tamura's first solo exhibition — under the name Shigeru Tamura () — was ''Yume no hikari'' (Dream light) 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 i ...
Nikon Salon
is the name given to exhibition spaces and activities run by Nikon in Japan.
The Ginza Nikon Salon (in Ginza, Tokyo) opened in January 1968 (with an exhibition of work by Ihei Kimura) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Nippon Kōgaku (later re ...
in 1969. He became known for his somewhat harsh
monochrome
A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochr ...
depictions of landscapes. In 1974 his works appeared within the "New Japanese Photography" show in the
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 t ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Tamura made the stills for several of the late films of
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
, and has published a book of photographs taken on the sets of Kurosawa's films.
Notes
Books by Tamura
*''Tamura Photographs'' (1983)
*''Base.'' Tokyo: Mole, 1992. .
*''Kurosawa Akira'' (, Akira Kurosawa). Tokyo: NTT, 1991. .
Sources and external links
Tamura Photographs* ''Nihon shashinka jiten'' (, ''328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers''). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. .
1947 births
Japanese photographers
Living people
People from Tokyo
Tokyo College of Photography alumni
{{Japan-photographer-stub