What's this? Book review of Daido Moriyama's photo books.

Impressions: I'm finally filling a gaping hole in my collection of book reviews. Until now (Jan. 2004), PhotoReviews has had no reviews of Daido Moriyama books. Of course, I've looked at his books and was impressed by his artistry and eye for street scenes. But I couldn't really understand it. If I don't understand it, I can't really talk about it. Also, his best books are out of print. For these simple reasons, I've avoided reviewing his books.

But I knew that someday I would have to introduce his books since he's such a major figure in Japanese photography. Also, I know there are collectors who buy premium photo books (available through our Auction Proxy Service). However, don't expect much from my reviews of his books. Anyway, welcome to my first Daido Moriyama book review.

This book is filled with grainy, high-contrast, black-and-white street shots mostly taken in the 1970s. The images are miscellaneous and totally random: People on the street, a parking lot, a pachinko parlor, store fronts and restaurant signs, subways and trains, etc., etc. The real world that looks unreal through Daido's eyes. The 188 photos are captioned with the place (New York, Okinawa, or Tokyo) and year.

At the end of the book, there's an interesting Afterword in Japanese and English. It describes his photographic biography from age 26 to 45, reflecting the period when he took the photos in the book. He writes, "I spent a whole year wandering around aimlessly like a stray dog in the street..." Now we know where the book's title comes from. I would never call Mr. Moriyama a dog though. The biography reveals his development as a photographer after he quit being Eikoh Hosoe's assistant in 1963.

Only 1,500 copies of this book were published. Obviously, it's out of print. At auction, the book goes for at least 30,000 yen. (Reviewed by Philbert Ono)

700-5

What's this? Book review of Daido Moriyama's photo book.

Impressions: Book of essays (in Japanese only) recalling the places in Daido's memory. They include Paris, Osaka, Kobe, Europe, Shinjuku, Yokosuka, Zushi, and Sapporo.

The essays are mixed with grainy, high-contrast, B/W photos of the respective place.

There's an earlier book titled Places in My Memory, published in 1984. This was a similar series of essays with photos that were originally published in Asahi Camera magazine.

700-5