PhotoGuide Japan – by Philbert Ono

Canon has closed the old Canon Salon photo gallery and service center in Ginza and reopened on April 25, 2005 at a new location 2 blocks away nearer to Higashi Ginza. They now have a new place called Canon Plaza Ginza.

It houses the new Canon Gallery Ginza, Canon Digital House Ginza, and the newly-named Canon Service Center Ginza (2nd floor). It includes a product showroom which occupies most of the new space.

http://cweb.canon.jp/canonplaza/ginza/info/open.html

It’s open from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. Near Ginza subway station, exit A12 or Higashi-Ginza Station, exit A8.

On March 25, 2005, Konica-Minolta Holdings announced that they will trim their photo imaging business to try and stem the flow of red ink currently totaling 9 billion yen. They will reduce their paper and film business and concentrate on high value-added digital cameras. They will also expand their “digital on-site” business that offers printing services at camera shops and photofinishers.

They plan to reduce their photo imaging business by 40 percent by fiscal 2008 and operate 2 billion-yen in the black by then.

Reduced competitiveness of their digital cameras and shrinking demand for film and paper are cited as causes of the red ink.

On April 12, 2005, Kyocera Corporation announced that it will terminate its famed Contax-branded camera business. Production of Contax camera equipment was terminated at the end of March 2005, and shipment of most Contax camera equipment is to end by Sept. 2005.

The reason given for the pullout was Kyocera’s inability to keep up with rapid market changes. Kyocera will continue to provide servicing of Contax equipment for up to 10 years. It will also continue operating Contax Club (camera club) and the Contax Salon photo gallery in Tokyo for the time being. (Update: The gallery and camera club were terminated in 2009.)

The English translation of their press release has a slight error in one paragraph.
http://global.kyocera.com/news/2005/0402.html

The sentence
“Although Carl Zeiss and Kyocera have entered into a long term co-operation regarding the development, production and sale of CONTAX-branded cameras, Kyocera has decided to terminate such business due to difficulties in catching up with the recent rapid market changes.”

should have been translated as:

“Although Carl Zeiss and Kyocera have cooperated for many years to develop, manufacture, and market CONTAX-branded cameras, Kyocera has decided to terminate this relationship due to difficulties in catching up with rapid market changes.”

I hope you (and they) can see the difference in the meaning and implication.

Genova, Italy, a lovely seaside city, will be holding a major Japanese art exhibition at the Palazzo Ducale, the city’s grandest exhibition hall (it used to be a palace), during April to August 2005.

It will show ukiyoe, posters, textiles, and photographs. I was the co-curator of the photography exhibition which will show images of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb aftermath. One highlight will be pictures of Nagasaki taken on the day after the bomb by Yosuke Yamahata.

http://hiroshima-nagasaki.gam2005.com/

http://www.palazzoducale.genova.it/eng/naviga.asp?pagina=9314

Update: Photos of the exhibition:
http://photoguide.jp/pix/thumbnails.php?album=90

Press release in Italian for the photo exhibition:

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Fotografia della memoria A cura di Rossella Menegazzo e Ono Philbert

La mostra e` sorta per ricordare e commemorare il sessantesimo anniversario del bombardamento atomico delle citta` di Hiroshima e di Nagasaki il 6 e il 9 agosto 1945. Essa si avvale della collaborazione organizzativa del Museo della Pace di Hiroshima e del Museo della Pace di Tokyo e si compone di tre parti.

La prima, divisa in due sezioni ciascuna dedicata a una delle due citta`, consiste di una serie di settanta fotografie che costituiscono i primi documenti visivi della catastrofe. Le immagini furono scattate nei giorni immediatamente successivi allo scoppio delle due bombe. HAYASHI Shigeo, HIMURA Ken’ichi, MIYATAKE Hajime, MATSUSHIGE Yoshito, sono alcuni dei fotografi che ripresero per primi la catastrofe di Hiroshima: le rovine, le distruzioni, gli oggetti, i cadaveri, i sopravvissuti. Impressionante il montaggio a 360° di Hayashi: la visione di un altro mondo. YAMAHATA Yosuke e` invece il piu` importante testimone del disastro di Nagasaki. Le sue foto, scattate per la massima parte il giorno dopo l’esplosione, sono state di recente oggetto di una trasmissione dell’ente televisivo di Stato (NHK) che, attraverso i volti ritratti, ha potuto ricostruire, riconoscere e in alcuni casi rintracciare diversi sopravvissuti.

La seconda parte consiste di una serie di ventisei pannelli fotografici e didattici in cui viene ricostruita la storia, diventata simbolo di pace e speranza, della piccola Sadako e delle sue mille gru di carta. La gru e` in Giappone sinonimo di buon auspicio e di longevita`. Quelle colorate di carta che Sadako comincio` a creare mentre era in ospedale per la leucemia generata dalle radiazioni, dovevano accompagnarla a una guarigione che non ci fu. Da allora gru di carta come le sue continuano a essere create e donate da grandi e piccini che visitano il Parco della Pace di Hiroshima intorno al museo. Anche la campana del Parco e` in forma di gru.

La terza parte di questa mostra commemorativa e` un’istallazione creata da Riccardo Blumer con Gian Carlo Calza per la memoria e la meditazione. Occupera` l’intera Corte Grande di Palazzo Ducale fino all’ultimo piano e verra` montata per il 22 giugno per essere aperta con un evento.

Schedule in Italian:
http://www.palazzoducale.genova.it/eng/naviga.asp?pagina=9086

In case you’ll be visiting Italy, please drop by.