Visual Anthropology in the Photography of Hiroshi Himaya

Hiroshi Himaya [浩 濱谷] was born in 1915 in Tokyo, Japan. From an early age he showed an interest in painting, but photography had a fashionable element and he was quickly drawn to it. He worked as a freelance photojournalist from the late 1930s until becoming connected with the Magnum photography group in the early 1960s.

Growing up in Ueno, Tokyo, Himaya's early work focused on the people and interactions surrounding him in Japan. Later in his career, Himaya turned his focus toward nature and landscapes. He visited many parts of the world to take areal photographs of mountains and landscapes. I don't see a strong connection between these later photos and Japanese culture, so I won't be talking about them here.

Examples of Himaya's early photography:

(These links will open in new windows.)
Ex. 1 (1937)
Ex. 2 (1954)
Ex. 3 (1959)
Ex. 4 (published 1957)
Ex. 5 (published 1957)

I think that Himaya’s early work captures an interesting slice of what Japan was like at one time. He took many street-scene photographs in Tokyo, and then traveled to some of the more rural areas of Japan to photograph the lifestyles of the people who live and work there.

Examples 1, 2, and 3 are representative of the kinds of city scenes Himaya photographed. Example 1 is a mashup of the traditional and modern, featuring two Geisha walking down the street near modern vehicles. Example 2 represents to me the uniquely Japanese need to veil affection for one's sweetheart in public, an aspect of the culture which is beginning to change recently with the shift toward individualism. Finally, example 3 is still strongly remincent of Tokyo today, with a large crowd patiently waiting at a crosswalk.

The next two examples create a harsh contrast to the zippy industrialized life of the city. Example 4 is a rural dwelling in western Japan, where farming was the people's main livelihood. Example 5 strikes a discordant note with Example 2. Here there is pictured a group of men and women perfectly comfortable to bathe together. With my background, this scene is particularly confusing. It makes me wonder more about how Japanese culture functioned before the shift toward western ideas and indivitualism.

Sources:

Much of Himaya's biographical information and personal views come from a translated November 1988 interview with Frank Horvat located on a personal website for Frank Horvat's Photography.

Examples 1, 2, and 3 and a little biographical information comes from a November 2008 article Tokyo Stories: vintage photography exhibition in an online photography magazine lens Culture.

Examples 4 and 5 come from a listing for one of Himaya's books Back Coast Japan [裏日本] at a Japanese photography book sales website Book OGA.

Additional biographical information comes from Himaya's entry in the PhotoWho'sWho list located at an English website PhotoGuide Japan! about photography in Japan.