Kaneko and Vartanian's Survey of Japanese Photobooks from the 1960s-70s

The book 'Les livres de photographies japonais' by Ryuichi Kaneko and Ivan Vartanian, published by Éditions du Seuil, examines Japanese photobooks from the 1960s and 1970s. It reproduces pages from about forty books, arguing that these works are often misrepresented in Western anthologies that strip them of context. The authors emphasize that Japanese photographers conceived their projects as books, where sequencing and layout are integral. For example, Nobuyoshi Araki's 'Sentimental Journey' is typically shown without its original book format, which the authors restore. Daidō Moriyama is quoted: 'Photography comes to life through printing.' The book provides a panorama of Japanese photography from that era, highlighting the book as a crucial space for image arrangement.