Japanese Photography Magazines: 1880s–1980s (2022)

Abstract

This review discusses Japanese Photography Magazines: 1880s–1980s (2022), edited by Ryūichi Kaneko, Toda Masako, and Ivan Vartanian, a major scholarly publication that examines photography magazines as a foundational infrastructure of Japanese photographic culture. The book situates periodicals as primary sites of production, circulation, and critical debate, foregrounding their role in shaping photographic practice across more than a century. The review highlights the book’s historiographical contribution, its emphasis on discourse, editorial culture, and reproducibility, and its relevance within contemporary reassessments of Japanese photography, particularly in Western contexts. It also addresses the book’s structure, editorial rigour, and significance as both a research tool and a material object.