Gen Ōtsuka
Gen Ōtsuka (大束 元, Ōtsuka Gen, 1912-1992) was a renowned Japanese photographer.[1]
He was born in May 10, 1912 in the Kita ward in Tokyo, Japan. His father, Otsuka Masayoshi, was a pioneer of photographic retouching. After graduating secondary school in 1929, his father encouraged him to study photography at Tokyo Industrial Arts High School (currently part of Chiba University). He graduated in 1933.
As a student, he had the opportunity to join meetings that were held by members who founded the photography magazine, Koga, which was founded by Ihee Kimura, Iwata Nakayama, and Yasuzo Nojima. Although he was young, these older photographers recognized his nascent talent and some of his work was printed in the magazine. [2]
Otsuka was a photographer who worked in various photographic styles. He was not tethered to specific photographic techniques or motifs. He was a leader in the Tokyo based photojournalism that focused on social issues. But he was also a well established portrait photographer. He worked for the Asahi Newspaper.
References
- (in Japanese) Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, editor. 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers (『日本写真家事典』, Nihon shashinka jiten). Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000. ISBN 4-473-01750-8
- Otsuka, Gen (2018). Gen Otsuko : MEM Booth at The Photography Show, Pier 94, New York, NY, April 5-8, 2018. MEM. Tokyo: MEM. ISBN 978-4-909598-01-1. OCLC 1077292646.