Reading Notes | Yoshiaki Kai, "The Image as It Is: Snap Aesthetics and the History of Japanese Photography," Chapter 7: "The Snap as Gesture: Shomei Tomatsu, Daido Moriyama, and the American Thing"
Summary (carefully prepared for those who have not read the book)
The Aim of Chapter 7
This chapter deals with the "redefinition" of the snapshot in Japanese photography from the 1960s onward. Triggered by the reception of William Klein and Robert Frank, the snapshot shifted away from the understanding of it as a "transparent window of objectivity capturing reality" toward an expression strongly imbued with "materiality," such as high contrast, graininess, and blur. The chapter states that this opened up a horizon where photography was read not as an objective reproduction of the subject, but as a trace of the photographer's "gesture" (it is carefully explained that high contrast, grain, and blur have symbolic effects, and that they gave the snapshot a contradictory function—a function that rejects the transparent window to the world).
On the other hand, the basic recognition of this chapter is that the style of Ihei Kimura and Ken Domon (suppression of subject awareness/trust in objectivity) also continued, creating a state of "coexistence of avant-garde and classical styles" (based on the organization that blur and out-of-focus effects functioned as "expressive effects" in snapshots, leading to a pluralization of values).
1. New Expressions in Snapshots
The impact of Klein's "New York 1954–55" (1956) and Frank's "The Americans" introduced a quality of "roughness, anxiety, and ominousness" into the snapshots of Japanese photographers. These were in contrast to the conventional view of snapshots that idealized precision approaching naked-eye vision, and brought to the fore the fact that photography is not "just a transparent window."
2. Shomei Tomatsu and the Image of "Americanization"
In projects such as the 1964 Asahi Camera magazine feature, Tomatsu made "Americanization" a central theme. He visualized the reality of postwar Japan under the political, cultural, and economic influence of the United States through images of military bases and various aspects of consumer culture—the "American thing." Strong words such as "There is a sufficient possibility that Japan will become the Japan State of the United States" were posted on the pages, and the anti-base movements, urban consumer landscapes, and advertising representations of the time were captured through snapshots.
3. Daido Moriyama and the "Heterogeneous Landscape"
Moriyama is positioned as a photographer who pushed the snapshot into the dimension of "action as gesture" by permeating the miscellaneous surfaces of the city with "are, bure, boke" (rough, blurred, out-of-focus). This chapter clarifies the direction of presenting photography as a trace of the author's gestures, while referring to developments from "Nippon Gekijo Shashincho" (Japan: A Photo Theater) to "Ido hodo hikari" (Light and Shadow) and "Kishikan" (Déjà Vu) (the major works of Moriyama are also listed as pillars of the sections in the list of plates and sources).
Organization of Arguments (Detailed)
From Transparency to Materiality
- The postwar realist belief that the snapshot is a "basic method directly connected to the objective appearance of the world" was shaken by the reception of Klein and Frank. The roughness, contrast, and blur of the screen took on emotional and symbolic effects (roughness, anxiety, ominousness), prompting an awareness of the artificiality of photography.Pluralization of Value Standards and Coexistence of Styles
- While the consensus that blur and out-of-focus effects could be "expressive effects" spread, the candid transparency orientation of the Kimura-Domon style also persisted strongly. As a result, a composition in which "avant-garde styles" and "classical styles" coexist under the name of the snapshot became established in Japan from the 1960s onward.Visualization of Americanization (Tomatsu)
- By weaving together the "American things" that permeated postwar Japan, such as base cities, consumer symbols, advertisements, roads, and the flow of people, through snapshots, he presented "Japan's Americanization" as a historical reality. The statements and plate compositions in the magazine depict a tangle of "subordination/assimilation/rebellion" at the layers of politics, culture, and life.The Snapshot as Action (Moriyama)
- Moriyama visualizes the "gesture of shooting" as a method. By shifting the weight from the snapshot as a noun (result) to the snapshot as a verb (action), the viewer gains a framework to read the speed, hesitation, and impulse of the action behind the image (suggested by the chapter structure and the placement of plates).
Glossary (Simple for beginners)
"The Snapshot as Gesture"
A perspective that views snapshots not as a "type of image" that has been completed, but as a trace of the physical act of shooting. Blur and roughness on the screen also take on meaning as evidence of "gesture."Are, Bure, Boke (Rough, Blurred, Out-of-Focus)
Non-transparent elements such as high contrast (are), screen blur (bure), and shallow focus (boke). In Japan, these were actively introduced into new snapshots in the 1960s and took on symbolic and emotional effects.Americanization
The process by which postwar Japan was influenced by the United States in terms of politics, military, economy, and culture, and its lifestyle and visual environment were transformed. Shomei Tomatsu visualized this reality through snapshots by bundling together bases, advertisements, roads, and the flow of people.Candid Photo
A general term for a shooting method that captures "natural" moments by emphasizing contingency and improvisation, while eliminating the subject's awareness and staging as much as possible. In Japan, it was strongly linked to the realism of the Kimura and Domon school.The metaphor of 'photography as a transparent window'
An understanding that views photography as a device that shows the world as it is, without human intervention. This chapter argues that after Klein and Frank, the materiality of photography was emphasized, and this metaphor was relativized.
Critical Analysis (Extending the chapter's arguments while incorporating personal views)
Strength: A perspective that returns the snapshot from an 'institution' to a 'gesture'
Kai connects the history of reception in the 1960s to the norm of 'objectivity as a basic method' that persisted until the postwar period, creating a foothold for interpreting the snapshot as an 'act/gesture.' This makes it possible to explain how the linkage between technology (lens, sensitivity, development) and the body (speed, distance) touches upon social reality (US military bases, advertisements, urban flows) through the 'quality of the image.'Reinforcement: Moriyama's 'words' and media circuits
Even within the framework of this chapter, how Moriyama's 'words' (essays, diary-like fragments) and the circuits of magazine media shaped the mode of reception of his work could be further explored. This is because the 'gesture' of the snapshot is also amplified by page design, the graininess of the printing, and the contrast of the plate-making. While there are suggestions regarding the layout of the plates, connecting this to the history of printing technology remains a task for the future.The scope of 'coexistence': Beyond the dichotomy of classic/avant-garde
The implication at the end of the chapter (the coexistence of styles) is suggestive, but in reality, 'transparency' and 'materiality' coexist and fluctuate within the work of the same artist. For example, some of Tomatsu's series contain scenes where visual radicalism and a documentary appearance coexist, revealing micro-fluctuations that go beyond a simple binary opposition.Extension to the present: Smartphone gestures
While smartphone auto-correction and high-sensitivity noise are different from the 1960s 'are-bure-boke' (rough, blurred, out-of-focus) style, they create a different mode of visualizing 'gesture' (swipe speed, AF hesitation, burst intervals). Kai's framework can also serve as a theoretical foundation for deciphering the 'traces of gesture' in the post-digital era.
References (Minimal)
Yoshiaki Kai, 'Images as They Are: Snap Aesthetics and the History of Japanese Photography', University of Tokyo Press, 2021 (2023 printing) [From colophon information].
William Klein, New York 1954–55, 1956. (Referenced in the chapter)
Robert Frank, The Americans, 1958/59. (Referenced in the chapter)
Shomei Tomatsu, 'Americanization' related articles (Asahi Camera, 1964).
Daido Moriyama, 'Nippon Gekijo Shashincho' (Japan: A Photo Theater), 'Ido hodo Hikari' (Light as Travel), 'Kishikan' (Déjà Vu), etc. (Refer to chapter headings and plate lists).
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