Description
Since its establishment in 1972, the Japan Foundation has aimed to contribute to the promotion of a better mutual understanding between peoples through cultural and intellectual exchange. To achieve this aim, the Japan Foundation conducts programs around the world in three different fields-arts and cultural exchange, Japanese-language education overseas, and Japanese studies and intellectual exchange. The Japan Foundation is delighted to have been able to organize "Metamorphosis of Japan
After the War" It is with great pleasure that we present this exhibition at a number of venues around the world, introducing the work of 11 photographers who captured images of
postwar Japan from 1945 to 1964. In 1945, Japan made a new start as a defeated and devastated country after WWII. However, after only 20 or so years, the nation's society, economy, and culture underwent dramatic transformations. It is difficult to specify precisely when the postwar period ended, but for the purposes of this exhibition, we define the "postwar" era as the period from the end of the war in 1945 to the year of the Tokyo Olympics, 1964, by which point the "Shinkansen" bullet trains were running, and a plan to double national income had raised standards of living. bringing consumer appliances such as TVs, washing machines, and refrigerators to a large number of homes. The 11 photographers introduced here were each active in this period of dramatic upheaval. Their work records the transformation of society, and many of the photographs that they took are significant from an artistic perspective in addition to being important records.
