is a Japanese photographer of the man-made environment, particularly sheds, alleys and night scenes.
Life and career Nakazato was born in Taki, Mie Prefecture, Japan., Mie Prefectural Art Museum, 2009. Accessed 2010-09-03. When young he enjoyed painting, and he joined a painting club in Hosei University (Tokyo),Katsuhito Nakazato, "Jisaku o kataru 1983–2010" (), in Fūkei no kyōkai 1983–2010 () / Boundary in Landscape (Ichikawa: Ichikawa-shi Bunka Shinkō Zaidan, 2010). Exhibition catalogue. from which he graduated in geography.Exhibition notice for "Boundary in Landscape", Tekona, 2010. Accessed 2010-09-02. It was only when he was 25 that he first had any interest in photography, thinking that a SLR camera his grandmother had bought for him really ought to get some use, and enrolling in a photography class for the public that happened to be taught by Kazuo Kitai, whose teaching he found enormously stimulating."Kaijō-zukuri kara koya-zukuri made: Ekkyō suru shashinka no atamano naka" (), Un'yūtenga () / Unyūtenga, no. 103 (August 2010; ), pp. 4–17. An interview with Nandarō Ayashige (). The classes were held once a week for two months, and Nakazato took seriously Kitai's casual answer that yes, he might be able to make it as a photographer.Kazuo Kitai, "Nakazato Katsuhito ga shashinka ni natta hi" (), in Fūkei no kyōkai 1983–2010 / Boundary in Landscape. Nakazato would continue to meet Kitai once a month for two years thereafter.
Throughout this time Nakazato was supporting himself via as series of jobs that he disliked, and at 28 he determined that although the prospects of a good income looked bleak, he would indeed be a professional photographer as there was nothing other than photography that he wanted to do. He started with little skill or confidence (as he recalls) in editorial work for magazines, but gradually got into his stride and work picked up.
Nakazato's first photobook, published in 1991, is a portrayal of life on the "man-made wilderness" on the edges of Tokyo Bay, during its rapid changes before the construction of Makuhari Messe. The portraits (as well as the use of monochrome) make this book unusual among Nakazato's works, but it is highly regarded.Entry for Wangan gen'ya, Shashinshū o yomu: Besuto 338 kanzen gaido (, Reading photobooks: A complete guide to the best 338; Tokyo: Metarōgu, 1997; ), 191.
His subsequent work has been in colour, with one entire book (as well as major contributions to others) of photographs of sheds,The relevant photographs have appeared in several books with the word koya () – on occasion goya (thanks to rendaku) – within their titles. The literal meaning of koya is close to "small house" and its actual meaning encompasses "hut" as well as "shed". "Sheds" is used in this article as shorthand for "sheds (and huts)". books of photographs of dusk and night scenes in and near Tokyo done in collaboration with the writer Jun Nakano, and more.
In 2001, Nakazato was invited to participate in a crafts event in Ichikawa (Chiba), and, as a renowned photographer of sheds, quickly agreed to construct a shed, a job for which he had no experience. With the help of an architecture student from Waseda University, he was successful in what turned out to be the first of a series of sheds.
Nakazato won the Society of Photography Award in 2003 for his book De Chirico's ShadowList of awards 1999–2008 , Society of Photography. Accessed 2010-08-03. and the Photo City Sagamihara newcomer's award in 2005 for his book Roji: Wandering Back Alleys.Photo City Sagamihara 2005 awards, Photo City Sagamihara. Accessed 2010-08-03.
Nakazato is a professor at Tokyo Zokei University.Profile at Tokyo Zokei University. Accessed 2010-09-02. He also teaches various workshops elsewhere.
Exhibitions Solo exhibitions
"Wangan gen'ya" (The man-made wilderness of Tokyo BayThis English title and others below that are in parentheses are from the English language CV at the back of Boundary in Landscape. It's not clear whether these were originally used or are freshly made for the CV.). Olympus Gallery (Shinjuku, Tokyo), 1990. for "Ultra", Mie Prefectural Art Museum. Accessed 2010-09-02.Profile of Nakazato at Chukyo University. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Yume no tezawari" (Touch of dreams). Nikon Salon (Shinjuku, Tokyo), 1995. "Fūkei no achira: Miyazawa Kenji, Taneda Santōka no sekai o aruku" (Beyond scenes: Walking in the world of Kenji Miyazawa and Santōka Taneda). Konica Plaza (Shinjuku, Tokyo), 1996. "Chihyō-e: jinettai" (Surface of the Earth picture: Terrestrial heat zone). Gallery Saoh & Tomos (Nihonbashi, Tokyo), 1996. "Koya: Mushin de honpō na kenchiku" (Sheds: Innocent, wild construction). Inax Gallery (Nagoya), 1999. Inax Gallery (Tokyo and Osaka), 2000. "Hyōsō seizō (ikon)" (The superficial: Icons from the deep). Exile Gallery (Kyoto), 2000. "Kiriko no machi" (De Chirico's shadow). Uchida Gallery (Azabu Jūban, Tokyo). "Yami no hyōkai" / "Rising Darkness". Il Tempo (Kōenji, Tokyo), 2004. "Koya no shōzō". Jikonka (Kameyama, Mie), 2004.List of 2004 exhibitions , Jikonka. Accessed 2010-09-02. "N machi" (N town). Uchida Gallery (Kayabachō, Tokyo), 2005. Variété Honroku (Hongō, Tokyo), 2006.List of past exhibitions, Variété Honroku. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Tōkei". Mokudosui Gallery (Koshigaya, Saitama), 2006. "R". Gallery Tosei (Nakano, Tokyo), 2006.Exhibition notice for "R", Tosei Gallery. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Koya-tachi no hitorigoto" (Monologues of sheds). Billiken Gallery (Aoyama, Tokyo), 2007.List of events in 2007 , Billiken Gallery. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Self-build". Roba Roba Cafe (Tokyo), 2008. "Nacht. Natur. Das andere Tokio" / "Yoru, shizen, mō hitotsu no Tōkyō" (Night, nature, another Tokyo). Stadtteilarchiv Ottensen (Altona, Hamburg), 2008.Entry, "Artona: Kunst und Kultur aus dem wilden Westen Hamburgs", 9 June 2008. Accessed 2010-09-02.Exhibition notice for "Nacht. Natur. Das andere Tokio", Stadtteildialog. Accessed 2010-09-03.Description of the exhibition , Mokudosui, 2008. Accessed 2010-09-04. From the publisher of Tōkei. Contemporary Art Factory (Mukōjima, Tokyo), 2008.Exhibition notice for "Yoru, shizen, mō hitotsu no Tōkyō", Contemporary Art Factory. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Ultra rinkai yakei" (Ultra: Nightscape of critical area). C Square Gallery, Chukyo University (Nagoya), 2008.Exhibition notice for "Ultra rinkai yakei", Chukyo University. Accessed 2010-09-02. Mie Prefectural Art Museum (Tsu, Mie), 2009–2010 "Ultra". Aoyama Book Center Gallery (Aoyama, Tokyo), 2009.Exhibition notice for "Ultra", Aoyama Book Center. Accessed 2010-09-02. "Fūkei no kyōkai 1983–2010" / "Boundary in Landscape". Yoshizawa Garden Gallery (Ichikawa, Chiba), 2010.Exhibition notice for "Boundary in Landscape", Tokyo Zokei University, 2010. Accessed 2010-09-02.
Group exhibitions "Bokutō shashinten" (Bokuto photograph exhibition). Warehouse in Kinshichō (Tokyo), 2006. "Mieru mono / mienai mono" / "The photograph: What You See and What You Don't". Chinretsukan gallery, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 2007.Exhibition notice for "The photograph: What You See and What You Don't" , exhibition notice for "The photograph: What You See and What You Don't" , Tokyo University of the Arts, 2007. Both accessed 2010-09-02. "Funagoya: Fūdo to katachi" () / "Topography of Japanese Boathouses". Inax Gallery (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), 2007.Exhibition notice for "Topography of Japanese Boathouses", Inax Gallery. Accessed 2010-09-04. "Ishi wa kirei, ishi wa fushigi: Tsugaru" () / "Rocks are Beautiful, Rocks are Mysterious: Tsugaru, Land of Amazing Rocks." Inax Gallery (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), 2007–2008. Rock formations, rocks, polished rocks and rock details in Tsugaru.Exhibition notice for "Rocks are Beautiful", Inax Gallery. Accessed 2010-09-04. "Tsuchi: Daichi no chikara" (Strength of the Earth). Gunma Museum of Art, Tatebayashi, 2008.Exhibition notice for "Tsuchi: Daichi no chikara", Tokyo Art Beat. (Describes the event but does not name the artists.) Accessed 2010-09-02. "Gazai to sozai no hikidashi hakubutsukan" (Drawer museum of art tools and materials). Meguro Museum of Art (Meguro, Tokyo), 2008.Exhibition notice for "Gazai to sozai no hikidashi hakubutsukan", Tokyo Art Beat. (Describes the event but does not name the artists.) Accessed 2010-09-02. "Bakumatsu no tankenka: Matsuura Takeshirō to ichijōshiki" () / "The One-Mat Study of Takeshiro Matsuura, 19th Century Explorer". Inax Gallery (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), 2010. On the explorer and cartographer Matsuura Takeshirō.Exhibition notice for "The One-Mat Study", Inax Gallery. Accessed 2010-09-04.
Publications Books by Nakazato
Wangan gen'ya () / The Man-Made Wilderness of Tokyo Bay 1983–1989. Tokyo: Rokkō Shuppan, 1991. . Black-and-white photographs of life at the edges of Tokyo Bay. (All of Nakazato's subsequent books are of colour photographs.) Koya no shōzō () / Portraits of Sheds. Tokyo: Media Factory, 2000. . Photographs of the outsides of home-made sheds of all kinds across Japan. Captions and texts in both Japanese and English. Kiriko no machi () / De Chirico's Shadow. Wides Photo Collection 12. Tokyo: Wides, 2002. . Photographs of places and architectural and other detail, in daylight and at night. Captions and short text in both Japanese and English. Roji () / Roji: Wandering Back Alleys. Tokyo: Seiryū Shuppan, 2004. . Photographs of back alleys across Japan. Text and captions are in Japanese only. R. Tokyo: Tōseisha, 2006. . Paired photographs of bends in roads across Japan. Captions (locations and dates) in English, short text in Japanese. Tōkei () / Tokyo Mukojima 2000–2006. Koshigaya: Mokudosui, 2006. . Photographs of Mukōjima by day and night. No captions; an afterword in both English and Japanese. Yotsu no machi () / Geography of Colors. Tokyo: Seiryū Shuppan, 2007. . Pastel colours of the Ryūkyū islands, black of Mie and Aichi, the bright colours of Aomori, and the white of Japan in the snow. Captions in Japanese only but an afterword in both Japanese and English. Ultra. Tokyo: Nippon Camera-sha, 2008. . Photographs taken at night. Captions in Roman script, and (minimal) text in both Japanese and English.
Book collaborations Iwate-ken Poran-chō aza nanatsu mori e: Miyazawa Kenji e no tabi (). Tokyo: Kaiseisha, 1995. . Text by Takao Wajun (). A travel guide to and picture book of Iwate (and particularly Morioka and Hanamaki), inspired by and linked to the travels of Kenji Miyazawa. In Japanese only. Nukemichi, yorimichi, Santōka: Kyūshū o meguru tabi (). Tokyo: Kaiseisha, 1995. Text by Takao Wajun. . A travel guide to and picture book of Kyūshū, inspired by and linked to the travels of Santōka Taneda. In Japanese only. Nihonjin ni aitai: Tazune aruita 34-nin no shōzō (). Tokyo: Art Digest, 1999. . Text by Hidetoshi Matsui (). The title means "I/we want to meet (some) Japanese people: Portraits of 34 people I/we went around to meet". Matsui interviews the 34 people – photographers, scholars, musicians, and so forth – and for each, Nakazato supplies four or so black-and-white photographs: some of them fairly straightforward portraits, but others showing the person at work. Koya: Hataraku kenchiku (). Tokyo: Inax, 1991. . By Nakazato, Kunihiro Andō () and Toshikatsu Ue (). The title means "Sheds: Working architecture". More than half of this lavishly illustrated book about sheds consists of colour and black-and-white photographs and text by Nakazato; many of the photographs later reappear in Portraits of Sheds. Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi kikō: Yonhyakunen kaidō no dorama (). Tokyo: Moku Shuppan, 2001. . Text by Hiroshi Takada (). Koya no chikara () / Micro Architecture. Tokyo: World Photo Press, 2001. . Ed Kiyoko Senba () and Kesaharu Imai (). Nakazato is one of numerous contributors to this large anthology about sheds. Despite its English alternative title, in Japanese only.