Ueda, Shoji 1913-2000

views updated

UEDA, Shoji 1913-2000

PERSONAL: Born March 27, 1913, in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, Japan; died July 4, 2000; married Norie Shiraishi, 1932; children: Hiroshi, Kazuko, Mitsuru, Touru. Education: Attended Oriental School of Photography, 1930-31.

CAREER: Photographer in Sakaiminato, Japan, beginning 1933; Kyushyu Sangyo University, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, professor of photography, 1975-94. Exhibitions: Works included in permanent collections at Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany; Tokyo Municipal Museum of Photography; Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art; Yokohama Museum of Art; Yonago City Museum of Art; and Shoji Ueda Photographic Art Museum, Kishimoto Town, Japan.

AWARDS, HONORS: Photography Prize, Nika Exhibition, 1955; Photographic Society of Japan Award, 1975; Cultural Merit Award, 1978.

WRITINGS:

Watakushitachi No Shakaika: Shogaku 6-nen No Tame Ni, Futaba Shoten (Tokyo, Japan), 1949.

San-in No Tabi, 1962.

Kamera Kiko Izumo No Shinwa, 1965.

(With Masaaki Ueda) Izumo Myths, [Tokyo, Japan], 1965.

(With Tatsuya Naramoto) Oki, [Tokyo, Japan], 1967.

Izumoji Ryojo, 1971.

Children the Year Round, [Tokyo, Japan], 1971.

The Legend of Izumo, [Tokyo, Japan], 1974.

Sketch Album in Europe, [Tokyo, Japan], 1974.

Sand Dunes, [Tokyo, Japan], 1978.

Shin Izumo Fudoki, 1980.

Izumo Fudoki, [Tokyo, Japan], 1980.

Brilliant Scenes, [Tokyo, Japan], 1981.

Ueda Shoji, Asahi Shinbunsha (Tokyo, Japan), 1983.

Photographies 1930-1970, Filigranes (Trezelan), 1999.

Contributed "In the Initial Era of Modern Japanese Photography," to Shoji Ueda and His Friends 1935-55, [Yomago City, Japan], 1992.

SIDELIGHTS: Shoji Ueda was a major photographer in Japan, where he worked to increase the popularity and positive attitude towards photography as an art form. His main subjects were landscapes and people. A Contemporary Photographers contributor explained Ueda's photography style as "an amalgam of a strong compositional sense and a feeling of spaciousness; another factor is an almost childlike simplicity."