'I’m So Happy You Are Here': discover the work of Japanese women photographers
Subtitled ‘Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now’, this new monograph from Aperture is a fascinating insight into a critically overlooked body of work

Aperture describes this new photographic monograph as an attempt to 'tend to critical gaps' in the histiography of photography. Featuring 25 portfolios by pioneering Japanese women photographers from the middle of the century onwards, the book has been accompanied by a travelling exhibition. It’s also received a good deal of acclaim for the broad but absent worlds it chronicles within this superficially narrow focus.
Hara Mikiko, Untitled, 1996
With contributions from a number of curators, critics, academics and photographers from around the world, including Pauline Vermare, Lesley A Martin, Takeuchi Mariko, Carrie Cushman, Kelly Midori McCormick, Marc Feustel and Russet Lederman, the book prefaces its portfolio section with essays and writings on the historic and social framework these photographers were operating.
Kon Michiko, Inada + Boshi (Yellowtail and hat), 1986
As Pauline Vermare notes in her introductory essay, 'this volume only includes a fraction of the work created by Japanese women photographers from the birth of the medium to the present day. It is intended as an inaugural repository of photographs and stories that have largely been absent from the annals of photography's history, the history of Japanese photography and the histiography of the visual representation of Japan.' This is a triple absence, one that the book does well to mitigate, especially when predetermined gender roles and structures are finally being challenged.
Narahashi Asako, Kawaguchiko, 2003 (from the series half awake and half asleep in the water)
Portfolios includes work by Hara Mikiko, Ishikawa Mao, Ishiuchi Miyako, Katayama Mari, Kawauchi Rinko, Komatsu Hiroko, Kon Michiko, Nagashima Yurie, Narahashi Asako, Ninagawa Mika, Nishimura Tamiko, Noguchi Rika, Nomura Sakiko, Okabe Momo, Okanoue Toshiko, Onodera Yuki, Sawada Tomoko, Shiga Lieko, Sugiura Kunié, Tawada Yuki, Tokiwa Toyoko, Ushioda Tokuko, Watanabe Hitomi, Yamazawa Eiko, and Yanagi Miwa.
Yanagi Miwa, Elevator Girl House 1F, 1997 (from the series Elevator Girl)
The book contains a multitude of worlds and stories, with work that tackles history, disability, family, sexuality and identity, through surrealism, reportage, collage, landscape and still life. An illustrated bibliography frames some of the more significant photo books and monographs published during the period, providing essential and fascinating context.
Nishimura Tamiko, Mitaka, Tokyo, 1978 (from the series Zoku (My Journey II))
I’m So Happy You Are Here: Japanese Women Photographers from the 1950s to Now, Aperture, £60.00, Aperture.org, Amazon.co.uk
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Fluid workspaces: is the era of prescriptive office design over?
We discuss evolving workspaces and track the shape-shifting interiors of the 21st century. If options are what we’re after in office design, it looks like we’ve got them
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This collection of slow furniture is a powerful ode to time
A serene exhibition of David Dolcini's 'Time-made' collection has fast-tracked its place into our hearts and homes
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji Published
-
Is the Pragma P1 the most sustainable watch yet?
Geneva-based brand Pragma combines industrial design with real sustainable credentials
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Daniel Arsham’s new monograph collates the works of the auto-obsessed American artist
‘Arsham Motorsport’ is two volumes of inspiration, process and work, charting artist Daniel Arsham’s oeuvre inspired by the icons and forms of the automotive industry
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Era-defining photographer David Bailey guides us through the 1980s in a new tome not short of shoulder pads and lycra
From Yves Saint Laurent to Princess Diana, London photographer David Bailey dives into his 1980s archive in a new book by Taschen
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Inside Joan Didion’s unseen diary of personal relationships and post-therapy notes
A newly discovered diary by Joan Didion is soon to be published. Titled 'Notes to John', the journal documents her relationship with her daughter, husband, alcoholism, and depression
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Carsten Höller’s new Book of Games: 336 playful pastimes for the bold and the bored
Artist Carsten Höller invites readers to step out of their comfort zone with a series of subversive games
By Anne Soward Published
-
Distracting decadence: how Silvio Berlusconi’s legacy shaped Italian TV
Stefano De Luigi's monograph Televisiva examines how Berlusconi’s empire reshaped Italian TV, and subsequently infiltrated the premiership
By Zoe Whitfield Published
-
How a sprawling new book honours the legacy of cult photographer Larry Fink
‘Larry Fink: Hands On / A Passionate Life of Looking’ pays homage to an American master. ‘He had this ability to connect,’ says publisher Daniel Power
By Jordan Bassett Published
-
New Jay-Z coffee-table book dives into the Brooklyn rapper's archives
'Book of HOV: A Tribute to Jay-Z' is a hefty tome for a hefty talent
By Craig McLean Published
-
Discover Eve Arnold’s intimate unseen images of Marilyn Monroe
‘Marilyn Monroe by Eve Arnold’, published by ACC Art Books, is a personal portrayal of an icon
By Hannah Silver Published