Press Release2018
The 34th Higashikawa Awards
The Town of Photography
Culture Capital of Photography
Information

Higashikawa International Photography Festival Office
Mayor : Ichiro Matsuoka

HIGASHIKAWA, KAMIKAWA-GUN, HOKKAIDO**********************************************************************<Address>

HIGASHIKAWA PUBLIC

OFFICE

Organizers: Toshiyuki Yanome, Tomohiro Sakabe, Hiroko Yoshizato
1-16-1, Higashimachi, Higashikawa, Hokkaido 071-1492 Japan
TEL. +81 166 82 2111 / FAX. +81 166 82 4704
http://photo-town.jp/ E-mail: photo@town.higashikawa.lg.jp

The 34th Higashikawa Award Winners◆The Overseas Photographer Award:

Marian Penner Bancroft(Canada)For photographic achievements, including her series, “Radial

Systems” (2017)◆The Domestic Photographer Award:

USHIODA Tokuko

For her series of presentations regarding “Views of the Books /BIBLIOTHECA Series” (USHIMAODA / Genki-Shobo, 2016-17)◆The New Photographer Award:

YOSHINO Erika

For her photobook “NEROLI” (AKAAKA Art Publishing, 2016) andher works exhibited at “Photographs of Innocence and of Experience:Contemporary Japanese Photography vol.14” (Tokyo Photographic Art
Museum, 2017-18)◆The Special Photographer Award: OHASHI Eiji
For his series “Roadside Lights” (2010-) and “Being there” (2008-)◆The Hidano Kazuuemon Award: TOMIOKA Keiso
For his activities with continued fixed point photography of Tokyo,
including the photobook, “Record of a Transforming City” (Hakuyosha,
2017)Commentary on the Selection of the 34th Higashikawa Photography Awards
UENO Osamu
Higashikawa Photography Award Jury Committee

Judging of the 34th Higashikawa Photography Awards was held on February 27th,
2018. The nominees this year included 50 for Domestic Photographer Award, 59 for New
Photographer Award, 24 for Special Photographer Award, 34 for the Hidano Kazuuemon
Award, and 20 for the Overseas Photographer Award. As we wanted more people to nominate
artists, we have promoted to expand our list of nominators. These past few years, we havecome to choose winners for five awards out of a total of some 160-170 artists. The number ofphotographs to judge from was in the hundreds, and, as every year, the eight judges spent themorning carefully examining photobooks and portfolios, while judging took place in theafternoon.

This year, the category that spurred the most debate was the Domestic
Photographer Award. From the last remaining candidates, we finally broke the deadlock andchose USHIODA Tokuko. The persuasiveness of her “Views of the Books / BIBLIOTHECA
Series”, which she has continued shooting for some 20 years, and which was condensed into
her recently published three books, “Images Nostalgiques De L’editeur <Misuzu>/ Nostalgic
Pictures of the Former Misuzu Shobo Publishing Office Building”, “Views of The Books”, “My
Teacher’s Atelier” and their publication exhibition, lies in her polished monochrome expression.
By photographing the paper medium of books by the paper medium of photography, time andspace are interwoven like a labyrinth and an everlasting attraction is brought forth.

For the New Photographer Award, the artists who made it to the final stage of
judging were ISHIKAWA Ryuichi, KATAYAMA Mari, KANAGAWA Shingo, HOSOKURA
Mayumi, and YOSHINO Erika. The eventual winner was YOSHINO Erika for her photobook,“NEROLI”, which was a finalist for last year’s award, and the exhibition of that with her newwork, “MARBLE” added. The fact that she received more attention even after a year is not only
due to the “newness” of her work but also evidence of fascination in her work. While physicallyembodying orthodox snapshot techniques and yet trying to be as free as possible from them,
Yoshino’s gaze is strong, fleeting, and supple, putting a moment and light together andilluminating a unique world.

The Special Photographer Award went to OHASHI Eiji, a native of Hokkaido who
has photographed scenes of vending machines. Vending machines are everywhere in ourdaily lives, but we don’t usually consciously look at them. But making them the subject ofworks of art, Ohashi gives us a fresh view of vending machines. The image of a vending
machine in the snow is especially impressive, and it seems it is the kind of motif that only
Ohashi could have found, who was from Hokkaido. Compiled in his photobooks, “Roadside
Lights” and “Being there”, these images of vending machines are somehow nostalgic and are
narratives of Japanese society and culture.

The Hidano Kazuuemon Award, which was established in 2010, saw a sudden
increase in nominees and competition has become fierce as the award becomes better known.
Although it’s a new award and we debate the quality of the award each year, the award thisyear went to TOMIOKA Keiso, who has used fixed point photography to shoot Tokyo since its
post-war devastation. Fixed point photography, which has been continued by the second
generation TOMIOKA Keiso and TOMIOKA Michiko and the third generation of TOMIOKA
Keiso and UZAWA Tamami, is an astonishing work with the process of recording which has
been increasing in depth and breadth. It also embodies the spirit of this award as it is “Forthose who continued photographing a region’s people, nature, culture, and so on over many
years, and were recognized to have contributed to the region.”With explanations based on the careful survey of juror KUSUMOTO Aki provided,
the Overseas Photographer Award was given to Marian Penner Bancroft from Vancouver,
Canada, the country targeted this year. Bancroft has a unique form of expression originatingfrom personal experience and family history as she explores the meaning of immigration
history in Canada as well as sacred areas and territories of First Nations in her photographic
series. Recently, she has taken a close-up of familiar but originally non-native plants in her
series, “radial systems”.

This year, as with last, the awards were decided not by unanimous consent or alarge majority of ballots but by sitting around a round table and repeating the voting while
exchanging opinions from various perspectives and debating. Last year saw three new judges
and this year there were two, making a total of five new judges out of eight in the last two years.
Although there was not always consensus, this Higashikawa Award judging style oftraditionally deciding through healthy debate has properly continued. During the 30 some odd
years since the 1985 “Town of Photography Declaration,” I feel this framework for judging has
progressed step-by-step through the support and efforts of the people of Higashikawa andalways have a deep appreciation for this. Appropriate to the “Capital of Photography Culture,”
we can be proud that the judging has managed to choose wonderful artists. Along with theawarded artists and the people of Higashikawa, we would like to take even one more step
forward.

The Jury Committee of the 34th Higashikawa Awards
UENO Osamu <Photo Critic>----------------------------31st–
KITANO Ken <Photographer>---------------------------33rd–
KUSUMOTO Aki <Photo Critic, Curator>------------25th –SHIBASAKI Tomoka <Novelist>-------------------------34th –NAKAMURA Ikuo <Photographer> --------------------33rd –NIWA Harumi <Curator>----------------------------------33rd –HARA Koichi <Designer>----------------------------------34th –MITSUDA Yuri <Art Critic>------------------------------27th –The Overseas Photographer Award
Marian Penner Bancroft
Lives in Vancouver, Canada

Photo by Colin Browne

Born in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, Bancroft studied at the
University of British Columbia, the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr
University of Art+Design) and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (Now Ryerson
University) in Toronto. She taught at the Emily Carr University of Art+Design from1981 to 2013 and has made efforts to foster younger artists. She has held numerous
exhibitions both nationally and internationally including at the Vancouver Art
Gallery and the National Gallery of Canada.

Starting before 1970, Bancroft made documentary style works focusing on
the relationship between photographer and subject, including a well-known series of
black and white photographs of both her brother-in-law, as he battled leukemia, andher younger sister, as she supported him in his struggle. Since 1980, she has worked
both independently and alongside the members of the so-called Vancouver School
which produced internationally important photographers in the context of
post-conceptual photography.

From the 1980s to the 90s, Bancroft made a wide range of sculptural
installations using large scale photographs with text, sound and drawings, dealing
with landscape, memory and history, examining the formation of identity while
focusing on her family history and her early education as a colonial girl with
European and Scottish roots.

Since 2000 Bancroft has worked in colour, continuing her exploration ofissues related to immigration and the complex interactions of European settlers with
Canadian indigenous people. In recent years, such as in the series “radial systems”,
she has focused on natural forms, both local and non-native, with reference to their
humanly-caused migrations around the planet.

The Domestic Photographer Award
USHIODA Tokuko
Lives in Tokyo

Born in Tokyo in 1940. Graduated from Kuwasawa Design School in 1963.
Worked for KDS and Tokyo Zokei University as a lecturer from 1966 to 1978. Started
working as a freelance photographer in 1975.

While shooting daily lives, she turned her eyes to the refrigerator whichemitted a pronounced presence. Since 1981, she has been shooting series “Refrigerator”
in which one can see the diverse lifestyles of various families which are not readily
apparent. Other than that, she has “hats” series which could be seen as soft sculpturesand she also has a series in which she documented the common people in China withphotos and essays with her photographer husband Shimao Shinzo.

Has been shooting the books and their environment as a main theme since1995. Made a trilogy with the documentary photo “Images Nostalgiques De L’editeur<Misuzu>/ Nostalgic Pictures of the Former Misuzu Shobo Publishing Office Building”(Genki shobo, 2016) recording the old building and people working there, “My Teacher’s
Atelier” (USHIMAODA, 2017) capturing her respected late former teacher Otsuji Kiyoji

and “Views of the Books / BIBLIOTHECA Series” (Ibid., 2017) shooting the distinct
characteristics of aged books stored in libraries and personal residences. She Won the
37th Domon Ken Award and Photographic Society of Japan Awards in 2018

The New Photographer AwardYOSHINO Erika
Lives in Saitama

Was born in Honjo city, Saitama in 1970. Started photography in 1989.
Graduated from Tokyo College of Photography in 1994.

She has presented monochromes using tense framing shooting people inclose-up who gathered and passed by since the mid-1990s. Published “MOLE UNIT No.

7 (It's A New day)” (MOLE, 1999) and had solo exhibition and group exhibition abroad.
Started shooting color prints in 2010. Photographs taken in her
neighborhood capture fleeting moments and lights in daily lives. Publishedphotography book “Just Like On The Radio” (Osiris, 2011) with unique texture whichevokes bodily memories such as wind and scent which are hard to verbalize and“NEROLI” (AKAAKA Art Publishing, 2016) which captured condensed image which
are like the fragrance of neroli distilled from the flowers of the bitter orange.

Main solo exhibitions include “ NEROLI” (Taka Ishii Gellery photographer /film, 2016 ) and “MARBLE ” (Ibid., 2018), and group exhibitions “ Photographs of

Innocence and of Experience: Contemporary Japanese Photography vol.14 ” ( Tokyo
Photographic Art Museum, 2017-18 ) where she also exhibited “ NEROLI ” and herlatest series “MARBLE ”.

The Special Photographer Award
OHASHI Eiji
Lives in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Was born in Wakkanai city, Hokkaido in 1955. Made documentary works
shooting vast wildernesses in Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet and the western region of China
and their ethnic minorities with the theme “What is happiness for people”.

Becoming a freelancer in 2010, while shooting commercial photography, hestarted shooting his “Roadside Lights” series regarding vending machines as
symbolizing the most common feature of Japanese landscapes. Vending machines,
omnipresent all over Japan in ordinary streets as well as in mountainous regions andthe farthest capes with almost no people walking by, epitomize Japanese society.

Mainpublications

include“MERCI”(Madosha,2015),

monochrome

photographs of airy scenes mixed with vending machines emitting bright light and soft
snow lit by them and monochrome “Being There” (Case Publishing, 2017) and color
photographs “Roadside Lights” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2017 / Photo-eyes Best Books Award ).
Main exhibitions are “Roadside Lights” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2017), “Existence of” (Epson
Imaging Gallery epSITE, 2017) and “Eiji Ohashi-Being There, Roadside Lights” (Case
Rotterdam, 2018). Has gained increased recognition overseas in recent years.

The Hidano Kazuuemon AwardTOMIOKA Keiso
Lives in Kanagawa

Photo by Noboru Sonehara(provided by Nippon Camera)

Was born in Mie prefecture in 1926. Was a suicide corps pilot when the war
finished. After working at the Tokai District Transport Bureau of the Ministry ofTransport, and The Nikkan Sports News, He has worked for the National Personnel
Authority, public relations, since 1951.

Compelled by the urge to keep a record of the burnt-out ruins and how Japan
would move forward, he started taking documentary photographs beside his work. He
came up with the idea of shooting at a fixed point hoping that if he kept shooting thesame objects, at the same place, using the same camera, he would learn various things
if he saw the photos all together later. Shot the same spots at main station fronts,
intersections, squares, roadways of the metropolitan areas and captured Tokyo’stransfiguration during its high economic growth.

Won the first Newcomer’s Award of the Photographic Society of Japan in 1958
with “1000 days of mother and child” recording the growth record of a family. Keeps
shooting his family at the same intersection of Ginza 4-chome, it is a record of a family
as well as the town scenery and the changes of the passers-by.

Main Photography books include “When the cars were treasured- Tomioka

Keiso Documentary Photography” (NIPPON CAMERA, 2003) and “Tomioka Keiso
eye-witness series – Record of a Transforming City” (Hakuyosha Publishing Co., Ltd.,
2017). Even now, he is regularly featured in a magazine “NIPPON CAMERA” with
Tomioka Keiso’s “Daily record - my photographic memoirs”. His daughter Tomioka
Michiko and his granddaughter, Uzawa Tamami have followed in his footsteps by
taking photos of the same places and they also curate his more than 400,000
photographs.

Higashikawa International Photography Festival
Photo Fiesta 2018

Award Winners’ Exhibition
Date: 4 August (Sat.) – 29 August (Wed.), 2018
Venue: Higashikawa Bunka Gallery
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Admission: ¥200 ( ¥100 for residents )Organize: The Town of Photography: Higashikawa
Address: 1-19-8 Higashi-machi, Higashikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, 071-1423 Hokkaido
Tel: (+81)-(0)166-82-4700 Fax: (+81)-(0)166-82-4704

Artists:
Marian Penner Bancroft
USHIODA Tokuko
YOSHINO Erika
OHASHI Eiji

(The Overseas Photographer Award)(The Domestic Photographer Award)(The New Photographer Award)(The Special Photographer Award)

TOMIOKA Keiso(The Hidano Kazuuemon Award)

Event Schedule:
4 August (Sat.)

14:00-14:30 Award Ceremony
15:30-17:00 Opening Reception

5 August (Sun.)

13:00-17:30 Panel Discussion
Panelists: award winners, judges and guests

Higashikawa Awards[Purpose]With the idea of contributing to and fostering photographic culture as well as
raising the cultural consciousness of Higashikawa residents, starting this year, 1985,
we will annually be awarding prizes accompanied by monetary gifts to thephotographer for his / her works.

[Awards]
The Overseas Photographer Award*1,000,000 yen to a overseas photographer
The Domestic Photographer Award*1,000,000 yen to a Japanese photographer
The New Photographer Award*500,000 yen to a Japanese photographer
The Special Photographer Award*500,000 yen to a photographer from Hokkaido
The Hidano Kazuuemon Award*500,000 yen to a photographer who contributed to society throughphotography[Conditions]
The Overseas Photographer Award is presented to a photographer in a specificcountry or region chosen each year. He / She must be either living or born in thatcountry or region.
The Domestic and the New Photographer Awards are presented to photographers
whose work has been taken within the past three years that has significance either inthe history of photography or as some unique expression of the art of photography.
The Special Photographer Award is presented to a photographer living or born in
Hokkaido or whose theme and / or object concerns this island.
The Hidano Kazuuemon Award is presented to a photographer in acknowledgementof his longtime contributions in taking photographs of local people, nature and culture.
(The prize is open to both professional and amateur photographers.)
Of all the prizes, no specific restrictions are applied concerning the year it wastaken for the Overseas Prize, the Special Prize and the Hidano Kazuuemon Prize.
[Selection]
The works selected by nominators charged by the executive committee are judged
by the Jury Committee of the Higashikawa Award. The awards ceremony is held eachyear during the period of the Photo Fiesta in Higashikawa Town and is accompaniedby commemorative symposiums and other events.

[Other Stipulations]
The monetary gift presented with the Higashikawa Awards is meant to purchasethe original prints of the awarded photographs. Each awardee is requested tovoluntarily submit original print(s) of his / her choice from among the awarded works
to the residents of Higashikawa town.
The residents of the town shall be responsible for storing the photographs with careand for exhibiting them to visitors to Higashikawa, the Town of Photography.
These awarded photographs are exhibited at the Higashikawa Photography
Museum in order to contribute to promoting a friendship and cultural development of
the Town of Higashikawa.
We may present other awards to the photographs of outstanding works in order tocontribute to photographic culture as well as to development of the Higashikawa
Awards. For this reason, awards from other committees and sponsors are negotiable.

The Town of Photography
Culture Capital of Photography: Higashikawa
Higashikawa Town is located in central Hokkaido, northernmost of Japan, and is apart of Japan's

largest nationalpark "Daisetsuzan

National

Park" with

Higashikawa's eastern part forming a large-scale forest. Blessed with natural beauty,
lots of places in Higashikawa have been the subjects of many photographs.
Higashikawa, firstly cultivated by a group of settlers in 1895, has a shorter history
compared to that of photography invented in 1839. Higashikawa declared the “Townof Photography” in 1985 aiming to create a town of “being a good subject to be
photographed” co-existing with beautiful nature inhabited by many species of animals
and plants.
Higashikawa established the Higashikawa Awards in the same year and started
the annual summer festival of photography with the idea of contributing to andfostering photographic culture as well as raising the cultural consciousness of
Higashikawa residents. With a history of more than a quarter of a century, it has been
the nation’s prestigious photography awards and the longest-running photography
festival.
Higashikawa awards can also be noted in that it has rewarded overseas
outstanding photographers such as Joel Sternfeld, Lewis Baltz and Jan Saudek aswell as domestic photographers and introduced them to Japan. Through this, we meet
people from abroad and exchange with them. By doing so, we believe we can entrust
prayer for peace and our dreams to the future generation.
Since the declaration of the Town of Photography, Higashikawa has been a platformof meeting people, photography culture and nature over the last 30 years. Celebrating
120 years of resource development of the land, we declared the Culture Capital of
Photography in May 2014, keeping in mind our motto “Take a picture, Save thepicture, Share it with others” and with the determination to link photography andpeople across the world.