Setting Sun Writings By Japanese Photographers -

The anthology Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers is a seminal collection that provides English-speaking readers with their first deep dive into the theoretical and personal musings of Japan's most influential image-makers. Published by the Aperture Foundation, the book captures the shift in Japanese photography from the 1950s post-war era to the contemporary scene.

Below is a blog post structure designed to introduce readers to the book's core themes and standout contributors.

The Lens and the Pen: Why "Setting Sun" is Essential Reading

For decades, Western audiences have been captivated by the grainy, high-contrast, and often radical aesthetics of Japanese photography. However, the writings behind these images remained largely untranslated and inaccessible—until Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers.

This anthology isn’t just a supplement to the photos; it’s a roadmap to the Japanese psyche, exploring how artists navigated the shadows of a lost war and the blinding light of rapid modernization. Key Themes Explored

The book is structured into seven distinct sections that categorize the diverse "philosophies of the frame":

Realism: Focused on the "I saw it!" moment and the raw documentation of life.

Memory and Time: How photography acts as a tool for nostalgia and preserving what is being "jettisoned" by society.

Sentimentalism: A deep dive into the personal, often intimate, connection between the photographer and their subject.

Media and Landscapes: Examining the physical and cultural environment of a changing Japan. Notable Voices

With contributions from 19 photographers across 29 articles, the book offers a spectrum of perspectives ranging from scholarly to disarmingly intimate. SETTING SUN - Goliga Books

Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers is a seminal 224-page anthology published by Aperture in 2006. Edited by Ivan Vartanian and Akihiro Hatanaka, it represents the first major collection of primary texts by Japan's most influential photographers translated into English.

The volume serves as a critical bridge between the iconic imagery of postwar Japanese photography and the deeply personal, often provocative philosophies that drive it. Core Themes and Structure

The book is organized into seven thematic sections that reflect specific cultural and aesthetic preoccupations within Japanese photography:

Realism: Explores the foundations of modern Japanese photography, featuring "Photographic Realism and the Salon Picture" by Ken Domon.

Landscapes: Examines how photographers interact with their environment, including reflections by Shoji Ueda.

Memory and Time: Investigates photography's role in capturing fleeting moments and managing historical trauma.

Media: Focuses on the influential role of photo magazines and the technical apparatus, with contributions from Takuma Nakahira.

Photo Log: Features diary-like entries and procedural accounts, such as Naoya Hatakeyama's "Lime Works".

Man/Woman: Explores gendered looking and intimate relationships, featuring Nagashima Yurie and Ishiuchi Miyako.

Sentimentalism: Delves into the emotional weight of images, including Masahisa Fukase's musings on his "Raven" series. Key Contributors and Essays

The anthology includes approximately 30 pieces ranging from polemical treatises to intimate diaries:

Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki: As the most internationally recognized figures, they contribute several articles each, including Moriyama's "The Decision to Shoot". setting sun writings by japanese photographers

Eikoh Hosoe: Provides a behind-the-scenes account of his famous "Barakei" (Ordeal by Roses) sessions with novelist Yukio Mishima.

Shomei Tomatsu: Features "The Man Who Said 'I Saw It! I Saw It!' and Passed It By," reflecting on his influential postwar work.

Seiichi Furuya: Offers a harrowing and deeply personal account of his wife's suicide, illustrating the "watashi shosetsu" (I-novel) tradition in photography.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Contributes philosophical musings on the nature of time and the photographic medium. Critical Reception

Critics from publications like Photo District News and Art Review have praised the collection for illuminating the "provocative and fresh" nature of Japanese aesthetics for Western audiences. The introduction by renowned curator Anne Wilkes Tucker titled "Why So Personal?" provides essential context on why Japanese photographers utilize writing as a companion to their visual work. While noted for its depth of text, some reviewers from sites like AbeBooks have observed a relative scarcity of images (containing only 20 duotones), emphasizing its role as a literary rather than purely visual survey.

Detailed summaries of specific essays (e.g., Hosoe on Mishima)?

An explanation of the "I-novel" tradition in Japanese photography?

Information on the current availability and collectors' prices for this book? Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers

The setting sun—or rakujitsu—is more than a daily astronomical event in Japanese culture; it is a profound philosophical threshold. For Japanese photographers, the transition from day to night serves as a recurring motif that explores the tension between beauty and decay, national identity, and the Buddhist concept of mujō (impermanence).

In the following exploration, we examine the writings and visual philosophies of Japanese photographers who have used the setting sun to define their art. The Philosophy of Mono no Aware

At the heart of "setting sun" imagery in Japanese photography is the concept of mono no aware, a term describing the bittersweet pathos of things. The sun’s descent is the ultimate symbol of this fleetingness.

Photographers like Hiroshi Sugimoto and Daido Moriyama have often written about the quality of light at the end of the day. In his essays, Sugimoto often reflects on the "ancientness" of light. For him, capturing a sunset is not about the calendar date, but about connecting the modern viewer to the same visual experience a human might have had thousands of years ago. His writings suggest that the setting sun is a time-travel device, blurring the lines between past and present. Post-War Shadows and Rebirth

In the mid-20th century, the "setting sun" took on a more literal and political meaning. The term Shayō-zoku (the people of the setting sun), popularized by Osamu Dazai’s literature, referred to the declining aristocracy after World War II.

Photographers of the Provoke era, such as Takuma Nakahira, used the dying light of day to mirror a Japan in flux. Nakahira’s writings often critiqued the "clean" photography of the past. He sought the "grainy, blurry, and out-of-focus" (are-bure-poker) aesthetic. To these photographers, the setting sun wasn't a postcard-perfect moment; it was a period of high contrast and deep shadows that masked the scars of a changing nation. The "Golden Hour" as a Spiritual State

For contemporary photographers like Rinko Kawauchi, the setting sun is viewed through a lens of quiet domesticity and cosmic connection. In her books, she writes about the "shimmering" quality of everyday life.

Kawauchi’s approach to the setting sun is rarely dramatic. Instead, she captures the way a low sun hits a glass of water or the side of a child’s face. Her writings emphasize that the end of the day is a moment of "breathing out"—a release of energy that signals a return to the self. She views the sunset as a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual world. Technical Mastery and Emotional Depth

Japanese photography is renowned for its technical precision, but the writings of its masters emphasize that gear is secondary to "feeling" the light.

Shoji Ueda: Known for his "Ueda-cho" (Ueda style), he frequently used the sand dunes of Tottori as a stage. His writings discuss the silhouette as a tool for abstraction, stripping away the ego of the subject against the backdrop of a sinking sun.

Mika Ninagawa: Conversely, Ninagawa uses the setting sun to amplify color saturation to an almost surreal degree. Her writings describe light as a "liquid" that can be poured over a scene to heighten its emotional frequency. Conclusion: Why the Sunset Persists

The fascination with the setting sun in Japanese photography stems from a cultural comfort with the "end." While Western art often focuses on the "golden" or "heroic" light of the sun, Japanese photographers often focus on the "afterglow"—the zansho.

Their writings teach us that the most beautiful part of the day is not when the sun is at its brightest, but when it is about to disappear, reminding us to appreciate the present moment before it slips into shadow. If you'd like to dive deeper into this topic, I can:

Provide a reading list of specific photo books by these artists. Graduated neutral density filters to balance exposure and

Explain the technical settings used to achieve a "Japanese aesthetic" in sunset photography.

Research current exhibitions featuring Japanese landscape photographers.

The primary reference for "Setting Sun writings by Japanese photographers" is the anthology Setting Sun: Writings by Japanese Photographers , published by

in 2005–2006. Edited by Ivan Vartanian, Akihiro Hatanaka, and Yutaka Kambayashi, it is the first English-language collection of its kind, featuring key essays, diaries, and scholarly texts from Japan's most influential photographers. Core Themes and Structure

The book is divided into seven thematic sections that explore the unique aesthetic and philosophical rules of Japanese photography:

: Discusses the transition from salon-style pictorialism to post-war social realism. Landscapes

: Explores how physical space and ruins were perceived and documented. Memory and Time : Focuses on the passage of time and personal history. : Examines the role of magazines like and the act of shooting.

: Includes more technical and diaristic accounts of specific projects.

: Explores gendered gaze and interpersonal relationships through the lens. Sentimentalism

: Addresses the deep-seated role of nostalgia and personal emotion. Key Contributors and Works

The anthology includes 29 articles from 19 prominent photographers, with Daido Moriyama Nobuyoshi Araki contributing the most entries (four each). Photographer Featured Writing/Theme Daido Moriyama

"The Decision to Shoot," "Time’s Fossil," and "From Document to Memory" Nobuyoshi Araki

Essays on the deaths of his parents and "The Photo Apparatus Between Man and Woman" Takuma Nakahira "Self-Change in the Act of Shooting" and excerpts from Why an Illustrated Botanical Dictionary? Hiroshi Sugimoto

"Bleached Journal," focusing on his conceptual approach to time Masahisa Fukase

"Family" and "Ravens: The End," exploring his deeply personal and dark imagery Shomei Tomatsu

"The Man Who Said 'I Saw It! I Saw It!' and Passed It By" and "Toward a Chaotic Sea" Takashi Homma

"Something Like a Sunset," which serves as the epilogue to the collection Cultural Context Setting Sun Writings by Japanese Photographers ARTBOOK

Setting Sun Writings: Capturing the Golden Hour by Japanese Photographers

In Japan, the setting sun is a revered moment of the day, symbolizing the transient nature of life and the beauty of impermanence. Japanese photographers have long been fascinated by the golden hour, capturing its warm, soft light as it casts a serene glow over the landscape. In this collection of writings, we explore the art of setting sun photography through the lens of Japanese photographers.

The Art of Capturing the Setting Sun

For Japanese photographers, capturing the setting sun is not just about freezing a moment in time; it's about conveying the emotions and moods evoked by the fading light. The setting sun's warm tones and long shadows add a sense of depth and dimensionality to any scene, whether it's a sweeping landscape, a bustling cityscape, or a serene still life.

Photographers like Hiroshi Sugimoto, known for his large-scale, meticulously crafted images of landscapes and seascapes, often employ the setting sun to create a sense of timelessness. His photographs, taken with a large-format camera, transport viewers to a world where the past, present, and future converge. Inspiration often comes from the natural world: the

The Photographer's Eye

Other notable Japanese photographers, such as Masahisa Fukase and Daido Moriyama, have also explored the creative possibilities of the setting sun. Fukase's photographs of ravens and urban landscapes, bathed in the golden light of sunset, reveal a world both familiar and mysterious. Moriyama's images of Tokyo's streets and alleyways, shot in the late afternoon, capture the city's frenetic energy and gritty beauty.

Techniques and Inspirations

So, what techniques do Japanese photographers employ to capture the magic of the setting sun? Many use a combination of:

Inspiration often comes from the natural world: the changing colors of the sky, the play of light on water, and the textures of the landscape. Japanese photographers may also draw on cultural and historical references, such as the ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the Edo period, which often featured serene landscapes and seascapes.

Conclusion

The setting sun, with its fleeting light and ephemeral beauty, continues to captivate Japanese photographers. Through their lens, we glimpse a world infused with a sense of wonder, a world where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. As the sun sets on another day, we are reminded of the power of photography to evoke emotions, spark imagination, and connect us to the world around us.

Since "Setting Sun" is a broad and evocative theme in Japanese photography, there isn't one single paper with this exact title that defines the field. Instead, the theme is a major critical undercurrent in the analysis of post-war Japanese photography.

The most seminal text that codified this "Shadow" or "Setting Sun" aesthetic is "The Ecology of the Japanese Photobook" (1972) by Kōji Taki.

Below is a breakdown of the primary academic paper that defined this aesthetic, along with other essential writings that explore the specific photographers you mentioned.

C. On Shomei Tomatsu (The Sun and the Bomb)

Essay: "The Mapping of Situations" Author: Leo Rubinfien (Published in Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation) Summary: Shomei Tomatsu created one of the most famous images of the setting sun in his series on Nagasaki. Rubinfien analyzes how Tomatsu used the sun not as a symbol of hope, but as a scar. The essay discusses the photograph "11:02 Nagasaki," where the sun is a blinding, destructive force, symbolizing the end of the war and the beginning of the atomic age. This is a crucial text for understanding the literal "setting sun" in Japanese photography.

2. Other Essential Writings on the Topic

If you are looking for writings specifically covering the photographers often associated with this aesthetic (Moriyama, Fukase, Tomatsu), the following papers and essays are critical:

4. Eikoh Hosoe: The Dramatic Fall

Hosoe’s work, particularly Kamaitachi (with writer Yukio Mishima), uses the setting sun as a theatrical backdrop. The sun here is not passive; it is a raging fireball, often distorted, lens-flared, and chaotic.

His writings: Hosoe’s commentaries are dramatic and visceral. He writes of the setting sun as "the drumbeat of a ritual sacrifice." When the sun sets, he suggests, the spirits of the dead (yūrei) ascend. His writing is physical—you can feel the heat, the sweat, and the frantic shutter clicks. Unlike Kawauchi’s peace, Hosoe’s sunset is a struggle against the encroaching dark.

Techniques & Creative Approaches

The World of Shadows: Rinko Kawauchi

Moving away from the testosterone-fueled streets of the post-war era, Rinko Kawauchi presents a softer, more ethereal interpretation of the fading day. Her work, often characterized by pale colors and exquisite light, treats the setting sun as a tender whisper.

Kawauchi’s photographs capture the moment when the light turns golden and liquid. Whether it is the silhouette of a swan against a darkening pond or the last light hitting a piece of broken glass, her "writings" on the setting sun are about the fragility of life. She documents the precise moment when the world loses its definition, blurring the line between the tangible and the spiritual. In her hands, the setting sun is not an ending, but a dissolve—a gentle acceptance of the coming night.

Daido Moriyama: The Gutter Light

The most aggressive “setting sun writing” comes from the postwar avant-garde. Daido Moriyama, famous for his gritty, blurry, and high-contrast images, redefined the sunset as a raw, existential wound. In his seminal photobook Farewell Photography (1972), Moriyama includes frames where the sun is setting over an anonymous, industrial Tokyo bay. The sun is overexposed to a blinding white, bleeding into a grainy black sky. This is not a nostalgic sunset; it is a harsh deletion of the past.

Moriyama’s setting sun writes a text of mono no aware (the bittersweet awareness of impermanence) stripped of sentimentality. It says: “The era of Showa is over. The American occupation has faded. What remains is noise and grain.” His sunsets are graffiti scratched onto the negative itself—angry, visceral, and unapologetically modern.

Stillness and Transformation: The Minimalist Sun

If the Provoke generation screamed at the dusk, the next generation listened to its silence.

Hiroshi Sugimoto (b. 1948) offers the most literal interpretation of "setting sun writings" in his series Seascapes. For decades, Sugimoto has photographed the horizon line where the sky meets the sea, using a large-format camera and extremely long exposures. In images taken across the world—from the Sea of Japan to the English Channel—the setting sun is often a perfect, geometric semi-circle bisected by an infinite line.

Sugimoto’s writings are mathematical. He removes the grit, the people, and the politics. He asks: What does the last light look like to a stone? The answer is a study in minimalism. His sunsets are not sad; they are patient. They remind the viewer that human emotion is a fleeting overlay on a cosmic clockwork. In the Western tradition, a sunset is a performance; for Sugimoto, it is a fact.

The Elegy of Hiroshi Sugimoto

Where Moriyama is chaos, Hiroshi Sugimoto is stillness. In his legendary series Seascapes, Sugimoto reduces the world to two elements: water and sky. There are no landmarks, no boats, no birds. Just the horizon.

Within this series, the setting sun is a mathematical event. Sugimoto’s long exposures turn the water into milky silk, and the sun becomes a perfect, silent disk. It is detached from geography; you cannot tell if this is the Sea of Japan or the Baltic. This universality is the point.

Sugimoto’s sunset is the sunset of the dinosaur. It is the sunset that will happen after humanity is gone. By stripping away context, he turns the setting sun into a meditation on time itself. Looking at his work, you realize that every sunset is the first and last sunset ever seen.