Leica Camera Japan is pleased to present “Showa by Werner Bischof – Japan Was Not Japan then.”

Commemorating the 100th year of the Showa era, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to reflect on a time when Japan was under occupation — a period when, as Bischof saw, “Japan was not Japan.”

Swiss photographer Werner Bischof, a member of Magnum Photos, visited Occupied Japan from 1951 to 1952 and spent about ten months photographing the country. Originally on assignment for Magnum’s “Generation X” project, he became deeply fascinated by Japan’s postwar recovery, documenting traditional culture such as shrines, tea ceremony, and Bunraku, alongside the American influence reshaping daily life.

During his stay, Bischof developed a close friendship with Japanese photographer Ihei Kimura. In his memoir “Me and Leica,” Kimura recalled that they became “like brothers,” and that Bischof’s photographs “were widely published and contributed greatly to Japanese photography.”

His work reflects a time when "Japan was not Japan."

Born in Zurich in 1916.  Initially aspiring to be a painter, he switches to photography after attending a photography class in art school.  His early works included studio and fashion.  Starts documentary photography after the World War II with publications in numerous magazines, gaining international recognition.  Joins Magnum Photos in 1949.  Spends 10 months in Japan from 1951 to 52.  Worked on “Generation X” project, initiated by Magnum, to photograph young men and women around 20 years of age globally.  Also covered Okinawa and Korean War out of Japan. Died in Peru in a car accident in 1954.