Ihei Kimura - Afterimage of Paris 1950s

After the war, it was hard to go abroad for Japanese. Therefore Paris, the capital of art, was a far away dream world.

Born as the son of a strap craftsman in the downtown area of Tokyo, Ihei Kimura was interested in photography ever since he was a kid. After he had graduated, he worked at a sugar wholesale store in Taiwan. It was in Taiwan, where he learned the technique of business photography, as he frequently visited a photo museum near his workplace there. He returned to Tokyo in 1922, and he entered an amateur photo club, as well as opening a photo museum in his own house. He started working as a professional photographer at the advertisement section of Kao Sekken, and was soon known by others through his snapshot of Tokyo downtown, featured in the magazine “Kouga”, and “The photo exhibition of the portrait of men of letters taken by Leica”. He became very successful, and soon landed the role of being the first president for JAPAN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS SOCIETY in 1950, where he promoted the movement of realism photography with Ken Domon.

When Ihei Kimura’s dream of going to Europe came true for the first time in 1954, he went to France with his Leica camera and rolls of domestic color film, which was just invented at the time. In Paris, he met French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson and became very close friends with him. Stimulated by the way Henri photographed, Kimura started to actively take pictures of Paris.

The year after, during his second visit to Paris, he walked around Fête nationale to take photos with photographer Robert Doisneau. During this trip, he was able to take a closer look at the liveliness of Paris, where he got to experience the flamboyant people in the downtown area. His photos of Paris are expressed with an especially unique color, and it is particularly vivid through his series of work, which was exhibited at Les Rencontres d’Arles and at Hôtel de Ville, Paris, half a century after they were taken by him. This has got his works international reputation again, and in this upcoming exhibition, approximately 130 pieces of his color works will be displayed, reviving to viewers the attraction of Paris at that time.

“Ihei Kimura – Afterimage of Paris 1950s”
1st of April to 24th of April
Museum “Eki” Kyoto (Inside of Kyoto Station building, next to 7F JR Kyoto Isetan)

(Source: Minimal)