Miyako Ishiuchi "Ginza was My First Tokyo" （Shiseido Gallery）

Miyako Ishiuchi "Ginza was My First Tokyo"

Finished

Artists

Miyako Ishiuchi

Ginza, the place where Shiseido was founded, has always been noted as a modern district where cutting-edge goods and people gather and has developed by introducing new culture while inheriting traditions. Web Hanatsubaki, the web-based version of Shiseido's corporate culture magazine Hanatsubaki, has been running a series of popular articles on the past and present of Ginza called "Modern Ginza Thoughts. The second chapter of the series, "Ginza Ballad" (from June 2022 to May 2023)*, was created by Tatsuyuki Morioka, who spins a story from Ishiuchi's photographs that reflect the memories of objects.
This exhibition presents approximately 30 original prints of photographs taken by Miyako Ishiuchi for "Ginza Ballad," including some that have never been exhibited before.

Ishiuchi first visited Ginza in the spring of 1962, when she was 15 years old. Her aunt, who worked as a bus girl (female conductor) in Tokyo, took her to a jazz cafe that was popular at the time. Later, Ishiuchi began going to see movies and purchasing art supplies when she was in art school. And it was in Ginza that she held solo exhibitions of her early trilogy of works that marked the start of her career as a photographer: "Zesshou, Yokosuka Story" (1977), “Apartment" (1978), and "Renya no Machi" (1980).

In "Ginza Ballad," in addition to items that Ishiuchi still keeps in her possession and that are connected to her memories, such as the singer's records that inspired her to visit Ginza and paints that were manufactured and sold at Gekkoso during the war, Shiseido's first real perfume "Perfume Hanatsubaki," kimono that were acquired from geisha in Ginza and Shimbashi and were loved by geisha in the Meiji period, and a collection of "Shinshinbashi" (a new type of kimono), which were worn by geisha in the Shimbashi and Ginza districts, were also on display.

In addition to items that are connected to Ishiuchi's memories, the photographs also feature items that symbolize the stores that have shaped Ginza culture, such as the "perfume Hanatsubaki," Shiseido's first authentic perfume; kimonos acquired from geisha in Ginza and Shimbashi; a skirt jacket in the Shinbashi blue color loved by geisha in the Meiji era; an octopus knife from Ginza Sushi Ko; antique buttons from Mitake Button; tempura from Ginza Tenichi; sandals from Ginza Motoji; scissors from the Ginza Bankan clothing store; a hat from Ginza Borg; and rice omelets from the Shiseido Parlor. Ishiuchihas captured them in her photographs.

Over time as a photographer, Ishiuchi's ideas about photography have changed. She has come to accept the role of photography as a means of documentation and communication, which she resisted in his early days, and to be more open-minded about photography.

The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. Throughout its history, Ginza has been a symbol of recovery from major earthquakes and war damage. Recently, many people, including tourists from abroad, have returned to the area.