10x10 Japanese Photobooks online space

During the New York Art Book Fair, the International Center of Photography Library will organize a pop-up exhibition/reading room of Japanese photobooks soberly called “10x10 Japanese Photobook Reading Room” (28-30 September). Ten people involved with Japanese photography have been asked to propose ten books, explaining the “10x10” of the title. It’s not a best-ten-list, rather a selection of what have be published in Japan and often rarely spread abroad, aiming to give the New Yorkers the occasion to read these books (they are not necessarily expensive but could be hard to find outside of Japan). In addition, an other project takes place online: “10x10 Japanese Photobook online space”. In association with the ICP Library and the Photobook group on facebook, ten people writing online on Japanese photobooks have been requested to propose their own list of ten books.

I have the pleasure to be invited as one of the ten so-called “online specialists” and to participate in the second project. I had to give my own list of ten books, published from 1945 to present. I had some restrictions, for example not selecting books which already were in others people list, and I also wanted to present in details every book that I would chose, that’s why I only elected photobooks that are on my shelves. Besides, I decided to concentrate on self-published or small publishers books, picking only books released in the last three years, in majority by young photographers. All the books of my selection reflect a trend of contemporary Japanese photography, rather focusing on everyday landscapes and daily life than spectacular scenes.

And finally, here is my list:

- Emi Fukuyama, Tsuki ga tsuite kuru (Tokyo: Tôseisha, 2010)

- Yôsuke Yajima, Wild Nature (Tokyo: self-published, 2012)

- Mayumi Hosokura, Kazan (Tokyo: Artbeat publishers, 2012)

- Masara Nakayama, KYOTO (Tokyo: heuristic / Artbeat publishers, 2011)

- Masafumi Sanai, Pairon (Tokyo: Taishô, 2011)

- Mari Kojima, Sea Sick (London: Oodee, 2012)

- Makoto Hada, Tori ha oyogu (Tokyo: Koike jimusho, 2011)

- Haruna Satô, Ichi no hi, vol. 2 (Tokyo: self-published, 2012)

- Munemitsu Komatsu, Finder, vol. 4 : NAHA (Tokyo: self-published, 2012)

- Setsuko Hayashida, Shima ni tsuite (Tokyo: self-published, 2012)

Each book on my list will be featured on 748=photobooks during the next days (Tori ha oyogu by Makoto Hada is already featured here). Obviously, I invite you to see selections of others people involved in the project:

- Rémi Coignet et Nina Poppe / Des livres et des photos

- Marc Feustel / Eyecurious

- Laurence Vecten / One year of books

- Marco Bohr / Visual Culture

- Nicolas Codron / A Japanese Book
- Ôyama Kôhei / parapera
- microcord
- Iseki Ken / my new notebook
- Victor Sira and Kawasaki Shiori / Book Dummy Press