Yasuzo Nojima

(b Urawa, nr Tokyo, 12 Feb 1889; d Hayama, Kanagawa Prefect., 14 Aug 1964). Japanese photographer, painter and patron. The eldest son of a wealthy banker, he studied economics at Keio University but left in 1912 because of mild tuberculosis. By this time he had begun to work seriously as an amateur photographer, becoming a member of the influential amateur group, the Tokyo Society for Photography (Tokyo Shashin Kenkyu-kai), in 1911. His entry, Muddy Sea (see Ozawa, pp. 10-11), won second prize in the Society's third exhibition of 1912. From 1910 to 1920 he produced photographs on a wide range of subjects, including landscapes, portraits and nudes. Particularly important as a forerunner in the photographic depiction of the nude in Japan is Woman under a Tree (1915; see Shigemori, p. 8).

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Nojima, Yasuzo (aka Kozo; 1889-1964), Japanese photographer. The son of a banker, he could afford to experiment with the new medium of photography. He belonged to the Tokyo Shashin Kenkyukai (Tokyo Photo Study Group) from 1910, opened a portrait studio in 1915, and ran a gallery from 1919 to 1920. He then opened a salon at home for exhibitions. Inspired by developments in Europe, he turned from pictorialism to a more experimental style, working predominantly with gum bichromate and later bromoil prints. He posed his human subjects as carefully as he would his still lifes, in dynamic compositions with strong gazes. Co-founder, with Ihei Kimura and Nakayama Iwata, of the photo-art magazine Koga in 1932, he placed images from his portrait series Woman in every issue, shaping the journal's character. He exerted a powerful influence on young photographers of his time.

— Madeleine Hill Vedel