was a 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 and types of photographers As in other ...

. Born in 1931 in Tosa, Kōchi Prefecture, Inoue became the first apprentice to

Takeji Iwamiya was a Japanese photographer particularly known for his depiction of architecture, gardens, and Japanese crafts. Career Iwamiya was born on 4 January 1920 in Yonago, Tottori, the second son of parents running a shop selling traditional confection ...

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 ...

in 1951. While continuing to work with Iwamiya in 1954, he started work as temporary cameraman for Asahi Broadcasting Corporation in Osaka. Iwamiya recognized his talent and from 1958 encouraged the young Inoue to roam the streets of

Kamagasaki is an old place name for a part of Nishinari-ku in Osaka, Japan. became the area's official name in May 1966. Geography Sections of four different towns — , , , and — are collectively known as Kamagasaki. Image:Airin-District_Os ...

Nishinari-ku, Osaka is one of the 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It contains some shopping and entertainment areas, such as Tamade. It lies directly south of the Namba transport hub and extends further south toward Sumiyoshi Park. It is served by the Nankai Railway line ...

, permitting him to develop his private work in the studio darkroom. During the 1950s, Inoue developed a reputation as a young documentary photographer. In 1959 he was a prizewinner in the Fuji Photo Film Contest Professional Section. In Tokyo, during May 1960, he held his first solo exhibition, "The Hundred Faces of Kamagasaki", which was awarded Newcomer Prize by Camera Geijutsu magazine. In 1961 he also received the Newcomer's Award from the Japan Photography Critics' Association. In 1959, Daidō Moriyama joined Iwamiya's studio before moving to

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

in 1961. Moriyama credits Inoue with setting him on the road to photography and as being highly influential in developing his photographic style. Writing for Inoue's Retrospective exhibition in 2005, Moriyama wrote: "his words - 'You coming, Mori?' - calling me to accompany him to Kamagasaki set me on the road to becoming a photographer" and "without the pioneering Inoue I would not have set out upon the long road of photography that I have followed".''Shashinka Inoue Seiryū Kaikoten'' () / ''Retrospective Exhibition of Seiryū Inoue, Photographer.'' Amagasaki City Sogo Bunka Centre, 2005. In Japanese. Inoue continued to work in

, becoming a teacher of documentary photography at Osaka Geijutsu (Art) University and eventually a full professor in 1987. Following his work in Kamagasaki, Inoue photographed ethnic Koreans emigrating from Japan to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and the festivals and city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, among other subjects. He was engaged in photographing daily life on the

Amami Islands The The name ''Amami-guntō'' was standardized on February 15, 2010. Prior to that, another name, ''Amami shotō'' (奄美諸島), was also used. is an archipelago in the Satsunan Islands, which is part of the Ryukyu Islands, and is southwest of ...

in Kagoshima Prefecture when he met an accidental death in

Tokunoshima , also known in English as is an island in the Amami archipelago of the southern Satsunan Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, has a population of approximately 27,000. The island is divided into three administrative ...

in 1988.

Books of Inoue's works

* ''Inoue Seiryū Shashinshū Kamagasaki'' () / ''Seiryū Inoue Photography Book: Kamagasaki'' Ginga Shobo, Osaka, 1985. Includes poetry by Kamagasaki resident Higashibuchi Osamu　(). In Japanese. * ''Hysteric One: Inoue Seiryu'' Hysteric Glamour, Tokyo, 2005. * ''Shashinka Inoue Seiryū Kaikoten'' () / ''Retrospective Exhibition of Seiryū Inoue, Photographer.'' Amagasaki City Sogo Bunka Centre, 2005. In Japanese. This book also contains a detailed biography and several articles in memory of Inoue, including one by Daidō Moriyama. * ''Inoue Seiryu / Kojima Ichiro'' Rat Hole, Tokyo, 2007.

References

Osaka University of Arts faculty Photography academics Japanese photographers People from Tosa, Kōchi 1931 births 1988 deaths Accidental deaths in Japan {{Japan-photographer-stub