Yukichi Watabe

Yukichi Watabe (1924-1993) was a documentary
photographer who started his career after the Second
World War, in the period where the Japanese people were
turning to a new order (and spirit) while still suffering from 
enormous damage from the war. This was the age of great
chaos and change in Japan. In Watabe’s photographs one
can witness the moments that symbolise the atmospere
of the period, and also, the people who lived plainly but 
were full of energy. While focusing on the objectivity as a 
photo journalist, he looked at the Japanes people’s
lives with a sincere, warm heart.

Long after his death Watabe’s work became known and 
acclaimed in the West. In 2006 a rare book dealer in London
bought a large set of Watabe’s photographs, from which a 
remarkable cinematic photo book A Criminal Investigation
was compiled and published in 2011. This widely celebrated
‘film noir’ book brought the well derserved attention for 
Watabe’s warm but honest documentation of a recovering 
Japan.