At FUJIFILM SQUARE, we are celebrating the 90th anniversary of the FUJIFILM Group's founding with SHYARAKUSAI! Japanese Photo Books of the 1950s—1970s. This exhibition focuses on the 1950s to the 1970s, a period often considered the golden age of modern Japanese photography. It features 32 classic photo books from this era, as well as photographs by various artists.

Curated by the renowned photo critic Kotaro Iizawa, this special exhibition has a two-part structure. It conveys the rich diversity of printed works through the photo exhibition, and the enduring influence across generations of works in photo books, underscoring both formats’ crucial role in advancing photographic culture. The two parts are as follows:

Part 1: Great Photo Books from SHYARAKUSAI

The first part of this exhibition revisits the publicity magazine SHYARAKUSAI, published and offered for sale by FUJIFILM Corporation during the 1960s, a time of rapid economic growth and widespread proliferation of cameras. In March 1964, FUJIFILM marked the 30th anniversary of our establishment by publishing the 10th issue, titled Great Photo Books from SHYARAKUSAI, covering 32 photo books. We have carefully selected 15 of these, and in addition to the actual photo books, photographic prints by the artists will also be on view.
(Issues 1 through 10 of SHYARAKUSAI will also be displayed.)

Part 2: The 1950s—1970s: Golden Age of the Photo Book

Since before World War II, print media such as photography magazines and photo books were the main platforms for Japanese photographers to present their works. After the war, as many photographers focused on photo books as a means of conveying their vision, a unique culture of photo books emerged through encounters with talented designers and the development of superior printing techniques.
In the second part of the exhibition, we present 17 selected photo books that are essential to discussions of this era but were not featured in SHYARAKUSAI, along with prints by the photographers.
Of the 32 prints exhibited, 20 are from the Fujifilm Photo Collection. With a few exceptions, only the covers of photo books will be shown.