Yoko (preorder)

by Masahisa Fukase

Masahisa Fukase's timeless masterpiece "Yoko" finally available again

Originally published in 1978, Masahisa Fukase's "Yoko" stands as a defining series in his body of work, yet it had long been out of print. Now, nearly half a century later, this extraordinary photobook returns, brought to life with the full support of Yoko Miyoshi (formerly Fukase), Fukase's model and muse, and under the careful supervision of Tomo Kosuga, director of the Masahisa Fukase Archives. This new reprint edition faithfully includes all photographs and texts from the original edition.

Additionally, it includes contemporaneous texts referenced at the time of the original publication, an essay by Masako Toda (photography critic and historian), and a heartfelt message from Yoko Miyoshi on the occasion of this reissue. Every aspect of the book's design and composition has been meticulously crafted to reaffirm the significance of this masterpiece and the passage of time it has endured.

Fukase and Yoko met in 1963 and were married in 1964. In the 1960s, they lived together as newlyweds at the Soka-Matsubara public housing complex, where Fukase began photographing Yoko. In the 1970s, he continued to capture her in various locations, including his hometown of Hokkaido, her birthplace of Kanazawa, as well as Izu, Kyoto, and other places. In the autumn of 1973, Fukase created a series titled "Untitled (From the Window)," capturing Yoko's elegant poses every morning as she left for work, taken from the fourth-floor window of their home using a telephoto lens. These photographs were published intermittently between 1964 and 1976 in the magazine Camera Mainichi.

In 1974, Fukase's works were included in the "New Japanese Photography" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. During this period, the couple traveled to New York, and the scenes from this journey were also captured in his photographs.

For this new reprint edition, the book's format has been expanded to amplify the presence of each photograph, and the cover has also been renewed. In addition, the pages featuring ravens – ominous yet poetic symbols that seemed to foretell the future of the couple – are now arranged with greater stillness and deliberation, inviting viewers to engage more deeply with every image.

In revisiting "Yoko," one must ask: What, ultimately, did Fukase capture through his lens? Against the backdrop of the era's spirit, the photobook contemplates the essential question of photography - the nature of relationships between two individuals.

Akaaka 2025
Hardback
reprinted edition
168p

Shipping in early May