The author is Michel De Grandi, Les Echos’s correspondent in Japan.

The picture editors choose a picture of mine for this article, the Shinjuku red-dressed girl, who embodies youth and dynamism.

Pecha Kucha night are based on 20sec * 20 slides presentations, about architecture, design, photography and any kind of contemporary creative fields. This concept was created in Tokyo in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture. PechaKucha Nights are now happening in over 230 cities around the world.

Japan is a great place to discover and create contemporary architecture : urban rules are quite flexible and houses/buildings have a very short lifetime, about 40 years. On Wednesday, Takeshi Hosaka from TAKESHI HOSAKA architects (Yokohama) introduced his last project, Hoto Fudo (Photos Koji Fujii / Nacasa&Partners Inc).

This strange building, looking like a mix between an igloo and a cloud, is a Soba restaurant (Japanese noodles). Thanks to a well-thought air circulation, the restaurant can keep its doors open almost every day of the year, without any air-conditioner.

This project is representative of my ideal architectural design concept : eco-friendly, landscape-friendly (despite the ugly car-park) and user-friendly.

Location : Fuji Kawaguchiko, Minamituru-gun, Yamanashi, JAPAN

Algiers, Algeria, December 2009

Koyasan, Japan, January 2010

I’m still reachable at this number +81 80 41 54 19 79.

The first printing of 1Q84 was sold out within the first day of release in Japan and more than one million copies sold after two weeks.

I’ve been a reader for a long time when I lived in Paris and in my opinion it’s one of the best magazines in France. And actually pictures, often taken by Lea Crespi, Patrick Swirc or Grégoire Alexandre, are still of a great quality.

So I was really pleased when they called me for two assignments here in Japan.

The first one was the portrait of Jakucho Setouchi, a 87-year-old buddhist nun. She’s also a famous writer. In 2008, she adapted the “Genji Monogatari”, a eleventh century Japanese novel, to a “Keitai Shosetsu”, a cellphone novel very popular amongst teenage girls. It was a big success online and she had to reveal herself. The novel is now published as a book.

In the beginnning of November, I made the journey to her place in Sagano, northern Kyoto. The neighborhood of her temple was quite spectacular with bamboo forests and autumn leaves. I spent a couple of hours with her . She’s really open-minded and smart. We talked about French women writers, like Françoise Sagan. We had tea and cofee. Oh, yes, I also took a few pictures…

The story is published this week in Télérama.

My pictures of the young Afghan migrants in Paris and the elections campaign in Japan will be displayed until the 6th of December in a slideshow at the Bodega. This event is organized by my Melon Rouge photo agency, specialized in pictures from Asia and which I recently affiliated to.

More about the PhotoPhnomPenh festival here.

More about Melon Rouge here.

The slideshow will be held from 6.30pm till 8.30pm and it would be better to book your seat in advance here (the entrance is free).

The venue is Waseda University Campus (早稲田大学),in the big auditorium (大講堂, 1F-3F) of the Okuma Memorial Auditorium (Bat. 21, 大隈記念講堂) .
It’a 5min walk from Waseda station on the Tozai line. Here is the link to the access map.

The program of the slideshow is here (2nd slideshow).

© Kishin Shinoyama

(Via JapanToday)

Police investigators searched the office and home in Tokyo of photographer Kishin Shinoyama on Tuesday on suspicion of public indecency over the shooting of nude photos for his book of photos ‘‘20XX TOKYO.’’ The investigators also raided the office in Tokyo of a talent agency to which one of the two models, a 21-year-old actress, belongs.

Shinoyama, 68, allegedly took outdoor shots of the nude models in Tokyo from mid- to late August 2008 in situations where anyone could see them, police said.

The Metropolitan Police Department plans to question Shinoyama later, police sources said.

The investigators have found nothing illegal in the photo album itself, but question the manner in which the photographs were taken, police said.

Shinoyama allegedly took the photos at a dozen locations in Tokyo, mainly at night. Some of the photos were taken on railway tracks and in cemeteries.

A number of nude photos of the two actresses appear in the photo book, which was published in late January this year and is about 60 pages long. The collection has sold out, its publisher Asahi Press says on its website.

Shinoyama’s office and the Asahi Press declined comment.

Tokyo-based Asahi Press said it has heard nothing about the police raids from either Shinoyama or the police. The Asahi Press has no links with the Asahi Shimbun newspaper or TV Asahi.

Shinoyama became a freelance photographer in 1968 after working for an advertising agency.

He has released a number of photo collections of celebrities, including novelist Yukio Mishima (1925-1970), singer Momoe Yamaguchi and actress Rie Miyazawa.

In 1991, he released ‘‘Water Fruit,’’ a collection of uncensored nude photos of actress Kanako Higuchi in which her pubic hair is visible.

Japan’s Penal Code sets penalties of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to 300,000 yen, detention for up to 29 days, or a petty fine of less than 10,000 yen, for persons who commit indecent acts in public.

Shinoyama’s website : http://www.shinoyamakishin.jp

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