Sakai Heihachiro

Heihachiro Sakai (b. 1930) joined the avant-garde Naniwa Photography Club, one of the most prestigious in the Kansai region, in 1948 and became one of the group's core members. He began publishing his work in magazines such as Asahi Camera around 1952 and soon earned the recognition of his peers. While Sakai was adept at a variety of techniques and genres—from snapshots to abstract photography, in both black and white and color—he was best known for his close-ups of animals. In these photographs, he decontextualized the animals through the use of his lens, capturing moments when their bodies looked like landscapes or geometric shapes.

*This text was contributed by Mitsuhiro Wakayama.
Unauthorized reproduction or quotation is strictly prohibited. Copyright belongs to the author and this website.