「NEW BOOKS」 Yuugi by Masahisa Fukase

Masahisa Fukase’s Origin Yugi – Revived After Over Half a Century

Masahisa Fukase’s first photobook, Yugi (Chuo Koronsha, Gendai no Eizo 4), was published in 1971. Compiled in an omnibus format by Camera Mainichi editor Shoji Yamagishi from photographs Fukase took over more than a decade, this book marks Fukase’s origin, brimming with imagery that shaped his subsequent works.

Yugi is structured in six chapters, vividly illustrating the correspondence between photography and life. “To” captures Yoko Wanibe at a slaughterhouse, photographing dismembered livestock alongside Yoko posing in a black cape; “Kotobuki” depicts Fukase’s wedding and newlywed life with Yoko in a private-novel style; “Tawamure” documents days spent in Shinjuku’s underground scene during Fukase’s runaway period; “Mei,” his earliest work, includes images of former lover Yukiyo Kawakami during her pregnancy; “Haha” features Yoko and her mother; and “Fu.” Turning the lens on himself and those close to him, Fukase starkly portrays the contrast and connection between life and death, expressing a life filled with the playfulness of existence through photography. This is his stunning debut photobook.

For this reprint of Yugi, all original photographs and texts are included. The redesign aims to reframe the relationship between the images and their surrounding space, as well as the multiple-exposure styling of the title, serving as a timeless response to Fukase. As a photobook that repeatedly questions the activities of Homo Ludens (the playing human), Yugi will once again stand as a significant work, offering a perspective on Fukase’s oeuvre and on ourselves.

Supervised by: Tomo Kosuga
Written by: Nada Inada, Shoji Yamagishi
Bilingual: (Japanese and English)

Publisher Akaakasha

Published 2025

Pages 128

Size 280x225mm