Japan Studio and Domon Ken
The first place Chikabo worked at was a design company called Japan Studio. It was 1933. Japan Studio was a news photography and pattern company, established by Natori Yonosuke, who had been influenced by the Bauhaus ideology, together with Kimura Ihei. Whilst fashionable words such as ‘design’ are used nowadays, at the time only ‘pattern’ was used and so Chikabo’s job title then was ‘pattern-maker.’ He worked at the company because of the graphic designer Yamana Ayao, his much-admired mentor. Yamana had participated in designs so deeply familiar to the Japanese as Shiseido’s logo and the grape mark of Shinchosha, and had really opened up the world of Japanese graphic design. At that time, Chikabo was his apprentice.
‘Mr Yamana and I got along very well; although we didn’t talk about anything, we understood one another. Moreover, he was very pleased with my work and called me in to Japan Studio.’ Chikabo was given responsibility for editorial design at NIPPON, a graphic art magazine aimed at promoting Japan abroad and produced in four languages, English, German, French and Spanish. Although used for so-called propaganda purposes, turning the pages now, the high quality is surprising. The composition of the pages and the way in which photography is used is original; in spite of the fact that it was launched before American Life magazine (first published in 1936), even that couldn’t rival its stylishness. In modern times it seems unexpectedly fresh but, looking at it again more objectively, it absolutely possesses a universal beauty which appeals to people’s hearts across the ages.
‘In those days, I worked so hard it was physically unhealthy. It was interesting because I could do the things I liked, in the way I wanted to do them. And so, unintentionally, I worked until late and went home late. Before I joined Japan Studio I was always just having fun; after I started working there, all I did was stubbornly work.’
Japan Studio was at Kyobashi and couldn’t be reached from Chikabo’s house in Yokohama without using the train. Well, I say train but commuting conditions were not as they are now and the commute must not have been easy. When I ask him about the route, it seems that there were also points along the way where he had to walk. He would go from Yokohama, through Shinagawa, before arriving at Shinbashi. From there he would head towards the Kyobashi office and, taking the Yamanote circle line, head to Tokyo station before walking from there to Kyobashi.
Still, however hard that must have been, just seeing the names of the staff working there must have made it all worthwhile. Distinguished names such as the founder and photographer Natori Yonosuke, Chikabo’s mentor Yamana Ayao, the photographers Domon Ken and Fujimoto Shihachi, all were going about their work, opening up as yet unknown worlds, in this tiny office. One can only think that the god of fame had brought together all this creative talent by some chance at Japan Studio, which revolutionised the world of news photography and made the world sit up and take notice of the value of graphic design. Incidentally, as I said, Kimura Ihei (the photographer) participated in the early stages of Japan Studio and Kamekura Yusaku (the graphic designer who took charge of work on the Tokyo Olympics), Chikabo’s junior by many years, also worked there. It really is no exaggeration to say that Japan Studio built the cornerstone of the history of Japanese graphic design. Although oblivious at the time, Chikabo must have had a unique experience working there.
‘I was really close to Domon. He joined the company the year after me but was two years my senior in terms of age. He had a rough temperament, was always mocking people with his eyes, and swaggering. He often shouted at Mr Natori, the Director. Nevertheless, for some reason, he was kind only to me. I cannot explain it in words but we had a relationship of mutual trust. Mr Natori would often tear up a photograph Domon had taken much effort over and then he would often hide himself away in the dark room. When that happened it was my job to draw him back out. I would knock on the door using a code that only the two of us understood and he would come out.’
Domon Ken is known as a doyen of photography even among people who know little of such things. Above all he is famous for his photographs of Buddhist statuary, for being the devil of realism, and his technique of closing in on his subjects is still talked about as legendary among many of today’s photographers. They talk of how, without eating or drinking, for a whole day and night, he would continue taking photographs. However angry the great men who were his models became, he just kept on taking photographs of their angry faces – his tenacity and zeal for taking pictures must have been extraordinary. Therefore, a man touched but a little by culture, just on hearing his name, will straighten his back with the power that resides in the name Domon Ken. The Domon Ken conjured up by Chikabo’s words is, however, very different.
‘Domon came from a really poor family and he was rough; handed a camera, he didn’t know how to use it properly. The first place he and I were sent to take photographs was Waseda University to take a group photograph of the students. It was Domon’s first photograph. Nevertheless, so far as setting up the camera and covering himself with the cloth, he did it right but then, for what seemed like an eternity, he didn’t come out from under it. The students began to get irritated that the photograph seemed to be taking forever. I had no choice, therefore, but to ask him “Domon, what on earth are you doing?” to which he answered, calling me by my nickname, “Goro, the students won’t fit inside the frame.” “What are you doing? If you pull the camera back they should fit in,” I told him. When he did as I had said he was delighted. “They fit, they fit!” From then on he would often ask me how he could take good photographs. Though I was a pattern-maker who depicted nature in nature, he came to rely on me and asked me many things. So, I gave him some hints.’
It feels strange to hear the devil of realism, the legendary Domon Ken, being talked about as a clueless youth. However, Chikabo is not the type to exaggerate or lie. It is obvious just from looking at his pictures, or from thinking of his faith in his god, that he has a personal conviction that he must express himself honestly. The Domon Ken he describes is, in some respects, goofy and unsophisticated.
‘Later, Domon came to take as his subjects Buddhist statuary, bunraku, and kabuki but, originally, he wasn’t used to such cultural things. So, I think his first real chance to experience culture was, along with me, doing NIPPON. One time we had the opportunity to photograph a doll in a private house. So, I suggested we make the room pitch-black and then light it from here and there. We did it and Domon enjoyed taking the photographs and felt pleased that the finished product looked much more three-dimensional than expected. So, when I suggested to him that, as Buddhist imagery of the time was all very flat, it would surely be interesting if he were to take photographs of Buddhist statuary in this way, he went out to take some, already on cloud nine.’
Of course, Domon was only human and so it’s only natural that, as a creator and as a person, he should take influence from something or someone or other. However, I can’t help but be surprised at the various influences Chikabo reveals in talking about Domon Ken just as if he were reminiscing about an old partner in crime at a class reunion. However, Chikabo’s next assertion astonishes me further still.
‘It was good that he got so carried away and went out to take the pictures but, in the end, he didn’t take any good ones and came back feeling down. So, I said to Domon, “It’s no good just rushing out thinking, ‘let’s take the pictures, let’s take ‘em.’ One time, you should just leave the camera behind and check out how you can best capture these Buddhist statues. One day, sit down in front of a statue and just look.” He listened carefully and obediently to what I said. The second time he came back from taking the photos, he said happily, “Goro, thank you. I’ve got it.” Still, I think the reputation he earned later was absolutely because of his passion for photography and because he studied with such enthusiasm.’
Chikabo is a devout Christian. Even so, within him, there breathes a way of thinking, of interacting with all creation, in common with animism. This spirit is strongly embodied in his pictures of insects and of flowers. Many of his works are the result of his dialogue with living things. The advice he gave to Domon was to do exactly that which he himself had practised since he was young. Later, many people who met Domon Ken would comment that he was a ‘man of observation.’ That is, he observed things too well. It would be too much to suggest that this came from Chikabo, but there is no doubt that Chikabo had a considerable influence on him.
Chikabo says, ‘Back then, Mr Natori sometimes said to me, “You too, take photos!” He seemed to think that as he wanted to make NIPPON visually perfect, if he got me, a designer and artist, to take photographs, I would be quick to acquire the skills, would quickly get good at it. But I answered, “God gave me two eyes and the eye of my heart, a triple-lens reflex camera so to speak, so I cannot do it.” It seems that when I made the same exaggeration in front of Domon he remembered it well. In his late years, when I visited a photographic exhibition of his, he said, “Goro, I gave in to your realism.” I guess that, although to compare the realism of photographs with that of paintings is inevitable, something about what I said stuck in his head.’
Japan Studio, in the worlds of graphic design and news photography, and Domon Ken, in the photographic world, are legends which shine brilliantly within Japan’s creative industries. For Chikabo, having lived through that time, in that moment, in that place, both bring back nothing but good memories. Therefore, the story he recites has none of the sepia-toned nuance so typical of legends but, rather, like a diary which overflows with affection, though plain in tone it is nonetheless told joyfully.
