Throughout her career, Japanese photographer Hideka Tonomura has explored themes of identity, love, beauty and femininity in unflinchingly raw yet poetic work. In her latest book, "Soul Trip," she explores the impact of nationality and borders on love. Tracing the journey of her grandparents - who were born in Japan and South Korea - Tonomura has captured an emotional journey of separation and unity.

“My grandparents were Korean and Japanese.
They loved each other unto death.
My grandmother took responsibility for her decision to marry a Korean - she died wearing a Korean bridal gown, a symbol of her love to my grandfather.
I promised my grandmother that I would photograph her in that dress.
The wars of nations end and begin again.
As long as there are conflicts in the world, they will leave people with hatred and create further conflict.
Today there are still chains of conflicts happening somewhere in the world.
Love, not conflict, is the source of life.
We don't need any more chains of conflict.
Perhaps it's only an ideal for the world to be filled with peace.
But I believe that it is the artist's job to pursue the ideal.”
― from Hideka Tonomura’s foreword

-Book Size
182 × 257 mm
-Pages
112 pages, 70 images
-Binding
Softcover
-Publication Year
2024
-Language
English, Japanese, Korean
-Limited Edition
800
-ISBN
978-4-910244-36-5

Artist Profile

Hideka TONOMURA

Born in 1979, Hideka Tonomura graduated from the Broadcasting and Filmmaking Department of Osaka Visual Arts School and began photography in 2002. She published her first photobook “Mama Love” in 2008 with Akaaka Art Publishing, revealing her deepest pain and her family’s dark, hidden secrets, which made an unforgettable impression on the public. In 2013 she published “They Called Me Yukari” with Zen Foto Gallery, documenting the life and people around her when she worked as a hostess in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. Her other publications include “Orange Elephant” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015), “cheki” (Morel Books, 2018), “die of love” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2018), “SHINING WOMAN #cancerbeauty” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2020), “mama 恋 love” [New Edition] 
(Zen Foto Gallery, 2021), “Toxic” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2022) and “They Called Me Yukari [New Edition] (Zen Foto Gallery, 2023).

Actively presenting her work in and out of Japan, she participated in the group exhibitions 
“Shikijo: Eroticism in Japanese Photography”, Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong (2016); 
Daiwa Foundation Japan House Gallery, London (2018); “10/10 Celebrating Contemporary Japanese Women Photographers”, Kyotographie, Kyoto (2022), “Love Songs”, La MEP – La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2022), and the Arles International Photography Festival Associate Programme “Transcendence” (2024).

Tonomura launched the “SHINING WOMAN PROJECT” in 2019, a portrait project dedicated to women fighting cancer. In 2022, her debut work “Mama Love” was collected by the MEP – La Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris.

Gallery Exhibitions