The Light with its Harmony: Shizo Fukuhara / Roso Fukuhara, 1st Edition

This is a first edition, first printing of “The Light with its Harmony: Shizo Fukuhara / Roso Fukuhara – Photographs 1913-1941” published by The Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo in 1992 on the occasion of a major exhibition of the Fukuhara brothers work at the museum. The book is a wonderful resourse for the work of the Fukuhara brothers and includes biographies of the artists and texts (in Japanese and English) by Shizuko Watari, Yoshiharu Fukuhara, Kotaro Sugiyama, Kotaro Iizawa and Noriyoshi Sawamoto. Often called the father of Japanese modern photography, Shinzo Fukuhara is considered a pioneer of Japanese art photography and was truly a renaissance man. Trained as a scientist and pharmacologist in Japan and the U.S. (Columbia University), he was the first CEO of Shiseido Company, Ltd and a pioneer in modern cosmetic marketing and design. A detailed biography appears below. His contributions to creating and promoting photography as an art form cannot be overstated. His brother Roso Fukuhara was also an accomplished photographer. Despite never having his photography published, he is considered a major contributor to the Japanese pictorialist photographic tradition. In his essay, “The History and Theory of Photography”, Kotaro Iizawa writing about the Fukuhara brothers wrote, “Even amid such exquisite settings as a vast field, tall mountains, or a city street, one must be in a place where the light is just right, or one does not have the material for a photograph.” These words, stated by Shinzo Fukuhara, keep alive the photos and the memories of the Fukuhara brothers even today.”

Containing 89 duotone plates and additional illustrations, the book measures approximately 11.5” x 9.5” and is bound in photographically illustrated wrappers with a 4” printed vellum obi (no dust jacket as issued). The condition of the book is Near FINE+ with some waviness to the obi.

Photographs of the book cover and obi as well as several stock photographs contained in the book appear in the photo section of the listing.