Kishin Shinoyama, a photographer who defined an era and represented Japan, died on the 4th. He was 83. Known for work such as the nude photobook of Rie Miyazawa that became a social phenomenon, he stayed at the forefront throughout his career. Six years ago he came to the Palaceside Building for a shoot.
Shinoyama visited for a 20th-anniversary feature in the November 2018 issue of the monthly Casa BRUTUS (Magazine House) and made 10 monochrome photographs with two models, a man and a woman. In a bright voice he directed pose after pose and kept the shutter clicking. Seeing his energetic "gekisha" style and the jokes he tossed off between frames, we felt we were watching an eternal camera kid.
A Mainichi Shimbun article (photo) on the shoot quoted him: "Every spot is refined in the manner of modernist architecture, yet each has its own character. As a photographer, it feels delicious." And: "I got good pictures in spaces with flavor." He was a benefactor who discovered a new charm in the Palaceside Building.