Hitomi WATANABE
渡辺眸
Hitomi Watanabe graduated from Tokyo College of Photography [Tokyo Sogo Shashin Gakko] in 1968. She presented her works under the title “World of the Street Hawkers” in her graduating exhibition, and continued photographing and publishing the series in magazines such as “Asahi Graph” and “Shashin Eizo”. Around the same time, when she was taking photos in the streets of Shinjuku, she encountered and began documenting the Zen-kyoto student movement. In 1972, she began traveling through Asia. When she visited India and Nepal, she felt she has found the home of her soul, and decided to stay longer. After returning to Japan, her photography has become essentially a spiritual documentation to convey a message to the living spirits.
Selected Publications
“Mohita's Dream Journey” (Kaiseisha, 1986)
“The Era of Monkey” (Shinchosha, 1994)
“Myths of the West” (Chuokoronsha, 1997, CD-ROM, 1978)
“Open, Lotus” (Shuppansinsha, 2001)
“The Monkey Philosopher” (Shuppansinsha, 2003)
“Photo Documentation: Todai Zenkyoto 1968–69” (Shinchosha, 2005)
“1968 Shinjuku” (Machikarasha, 2014)
“Tokyo University 1968–1969—Behind the Blockade” (Zen Foto Gallery, 2015)
“Tekiya” (Jiyusha, 2017)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013 “1968 in Japanese Photography”, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography
2017 “1968: A Time Filled with Countless Questions”, National Museum of Japanese History
2018 “1968: Art in the Turbulent Age”, Chiba City Museum of Art
2021 “PROVOKE-Opposing Centrism", Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei National University of Arts