monokurokan

▫️ We offer works by the following artists:

★ Please contact us via email with the artist's name and the title or reference number of the work you are interested in.

Inquiry Email: monokurokan@shashinkosha.co.jp / info@artgraph.tokyo

Takashi Kijima

Profile

1943: Graduated from the Department of Cinema, College of Art, Nihon University.

1947: Held a solo exhibition in Yonago City; recognized by Shoji Ueda.

1950: Recognized by Ken Domon in *Ars Camera* magazine.

1953: Moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in advertising photography; joined Light Publicity.

1954: Received the Asahi Advertising Award (The Asahi Shimbun Company).

1958: Solo exhibition "Nude" (Hadaka).

1960: Received the Best Corporate Advertising Award for 1959 (Time-Life, USA).

1976: Received the Annual Award from the Photographic Society of Japan.

1991: Awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th Class.

2001: "Takashi Kijima Exhibition" (Organized by Yonago City Museum of Art).

Received the Distinguished Service Award from the Photographic Society of Japan.

2011: Passed away on February 20.

Major Publications

*The Orchid* (Kodansha; later published in 10 countries worldwide by Octopus Publishing Group, London).

*Keys to the Japanese Mind: Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura* (A four-volume trilogy covering Kabuki, Bunraku, and Ukiyo-e; Japan Broadcast Publishing).

*Orchid: Hyakkafu (Original Orchid)*. (Published by Shogakukan; later released in ten countries under the titles *Orchids* and *Wonders of Nature*)
*Four Seasons: Shinjuku Gyoen* (Kodansha)
*Legend of the Nude: 1945–1960* (Syoen Sinsha)

Major Collections
Kawasaki City Museum
Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
Yonago City Museum of Art
Tottori Prefectural Museum
Shimane Art Museum

Ben Simmons

Profile

Japan as Seen by Ben Simmons: "The Soul of Japan." Ben Simmons grew up in Columbus, Georgia, and studied photography and psychology at a university in upstate New York before attending graduate school at the University of Florida on a special scholarship. He earned a master's degree in photography and art history and taught at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. He later moved to Japan, where he remains based today. Drawn to the aesthetic of Japanese architecture, he established his base of operations—Ben Simmons Photography—on the Miura Peninsula (facing Sagami Bay), located about an hour south of Tokyo. Ben Simmons shares the magnificent scenery of Japan with the world. His work is characterized by strong design sensibilities and evocative themes; he engages in photography projects worldwide, as well as creating photo essays, photobooks, and original prints.

Junko Sakamoto

Profile

Discovered photography as a medium to express her imagination and thoughts.
Participated as an analog photographer in the "FOTOGRAFIA ZEROPIXEL" photo festival held in Trieste, Italy, in November 2021. Exhibited film photography at the GRIN Art Gallery in Croatia in July 2022.
Active domestically in workshops and the creation of new work.

Toru Taki

"Images of a Dream"

Looking at photographs within a dream.
A photograph emerges from nowhere—as if floating into view—only to vanish instantly.
Then, one follows another.
There is no connection between the individual images.
They appear and disappear in fits and starts, like a mysterious slideshow.
I attempted to recreate that dream experience.
Phantoms passing by.

For inquiries, please email:

monokurokan@shashinkosha.co.jp