Nakayama Iwata

Iwata Nakayama (1895–1949) was one of the central figures of Modernist photography in Japan. He moved to New York in 1918, where he opened a photography studio in 1921. Five years later, he moved to Paris, where he developed close relationships with artists such as Man Ray. Upon his return to Japan in 1930, Nakayama founded the Ashiya Camera Club, which, along with the Naniwa Photography Club and the Tampei Photography Club, played a key role in the avant-garde photography scene in the Kansai region. In 1932, he founded the magazine Koga, which was one of the driving forces behind the Shinko Shashin movement, which embraced new developments in photography emerging in Europe and the United States.
In addition to his portraiture and commercial photography, Nakayama produced a body of original work that included surrealist photomontage and other experimental forms. Widely regarded as an important pioneer of the medium, Nakayama expanded the potential for creative photography in Japan beyond journalistic or realistic depictions.

*This text was contributed by Mitsuhiro Wakayama.
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