Are you familiar with the photographer Masahisa Fukase? He was a photographer who was active from the 1960s to the 1990s, and at the time, he was a leading figure in the field, teaching at legendary workshops alongside Nobuyoshi Araki, Shomei Tomatsu, and Eikoh Hosoe. However, an accident in 1992 abruptly ended his artistic career, and he passed away in 2012.

In recent years, there has been a growing re-evaluation of Fukase's work not only in Japan but also in the European art scene. The driving force behind this movement is art producer Tomo Kosuga, who launched the "Masahisa Fukase Archives" in 2014. He has been engrossed in Fukase's work since his student days, and after a career as an editor, he revived Fukase's previously forgotten works. This time, ISETAN MEN'S will release items featuring "Sasuke," a work in which Fukase photographed his pet cat, in collaboration with the brand RIVORA, with whom Kosuga has close ties.

In the fall of 2019, when Fukase's exhibition was held at Taka Ishii Gallery Tokyo, I had the opportunity to speak with both Mr. Kosuga and Ms. Aota Yumi of Rivola. They spoke to me about a variety of topics, transcending the boundaries between fashion and art, not only about this collaboration, but also about the appeal of Fukase's work and the importance of preserving the creator's intentions as an archive.

Turning photos into T-shirts makes them feel more accessible.

—I understand that you two became close friends through a research group related to Japanese photographers.

Before joining Aota Fashion, I worked at a photography gallery called Zeit Photo Salon (hereinafter, Zeit). I first met Tomo at a talk event for my book, "The Man Who Turned Photography into Art - Etsuro Ishihara and Zeit Photo Salon." Before that, Tomo had produced a solo exhibition for Fukase at the Diesel Art Gallery, and I was impressed by how Fukase had been revived, and at the same time, I was surprised by the exhibition of works I had hardly ever seen before. I wondered, "What is this?!" and who was behind it.
Kosuga: I attended Yumi's talk because I was interested in photo archiving. Zeit was an important gallery in Japanese photographic culture. When Etsuro Ishihara, who was its representative, passed away, Yumi and others took over the responsibility of the archive, so I was curious to hear what they would talk about. After listening to them, I felt that there was a lot I could learn that would be helpful in advancing Fukase's archive. So we decided to meet once a month and hold a study group.

—How did you end up getting involved in the fashion world from there, Ms. Aota?

In 2009, Aota co-founded Rivola with designer Yasuhiro Suzuki, venturing from the art gallery world into the fashion industry. However, their relationship remained unbroken, and Aota continued to visit the gallery once a week to preserve Ishihara's words as a witness to the history of Japanese photography. Photography and fashion are similar in that they both strongly reflect the spirit of their time.
Kosuga: I'm currently based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but when I returned to Japan temporarily in 2019, we talked about how it would be great to do something new from an angle that couldn't be conveyed through exhibitions or books.
A few months later, I received an inquiry from Yumi-san. She suggested that it would be interesting to incorporate "Sasuke" and "Yugi -A GAME-" into T-shirts.


Kosuga: The latter in particular is a special piece that was originally created by Fukase by sewing thread over a photographic print and then copying that print. The idea of applying this sewing technique to an image again this time is also a reversal and repetition of Fukase's original idea. I thought that this attempt would also be a dialogue with the late Fukase, so I started working towards making it a reality.
Awata: That's when Isetan approached us, and I thought it was a great opportunity to bring it to the world at the right time, so I started developing the plan.

—Mr. Fukase, you have many famous works such as "Crow" and "Family," but what was your reason for choosing "Sasuke" this time?

Many of Kosuga Fukase's works are quite dark. But "Sasuke" is a very energetic and cheerful piece, in which Fukase continues to photograph a lively kitten, with his own vision overlapping with the kitten. That's why I thought it had a good affinity with T-shirts.


Kosuga: Generally speaking, when people talk about cat photos, they're praised for being cute and soothing. But the photos of Sasuke taken by Fukase show him in so many different ways—sometimes cheeky like a child, sometimes mischievous, sometimes playful. That's because Fukase was so engrossed in photographing Sasuke that he saw his own reflection in Sasuke's eyes, and eventually he became one with Sasuke. Those kinds of photos are fun for anyone to look at. By putting those photos on clothing, I thought it would be nice if people could wear the T-shirts and have a conversation with Sasuke in their hearts, like in "Dokonjo Gaeru" (laughs).

Photo T-shirts are extremely popular as a fashion item. Richard Avedon's T-shirts, for example, fetch high prices in the vintage clothing market.

I think it would be a fun experience to wear a piece by artist Kosuga . Owning and appreciating an original print as a work of art is a rare opportunity, but a T-shirt is something you can easily wear. In that sense, I thought "Sasuke" was a perfect fit.


Aota: This time, I'm creating each piece by hand using silkscreen printing. I chose this method because I wanted to preserve the feeling of hand-printed photographs, or rather, the sense of grain. Only a few photo collections of Fukase's work were published during his lifetime. Opportunities to see his work were rare, but thanks to Tomo unearthing it, it's now being exhibited in exhibitions, and new photo books have been published so that people can experience it.

—So, what was the reason you became so infatuated with Fukase-san in the first place?

Kosuga: I get asked that question all the time, but it's the hardest to answer (laughs). That's because I first learned about him when I was a university student, and when I saw his photographs, they struck me deeply without me really understanding why. As I researched him further, I discovered that while "Crows" is certainly his representative work, he has actually created a tremendous number of other works, and all of them are experimental and exciting pieces that would inspire any photographer.

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Kosuga: For example, the artwork for this T-shirt, "A Game," was taken with a camera that can take extra-large 20x24 inch Polaroids, the kind used in the restoration of old paintings. He also prints using Polaroid film instead of photographic paper. He can change the color by changing the exposure time. The reason Fukase arrived at this approach is that his family has run a photography studio since his grandfather's generation, and as the heir, he was expected to take over, so he was made to help with the family business from a young age. At times he hated this "destiny of living with photography," but he continued to create works without interruption for 40 years until he closed his career as an artist. You can feel that kind of determination in his work.
I think the reason Tomo Aota is able to get so close to the inner workings of Fukase's personality is because she has seen his work more than anyone else. I was amazed to see that she had collected magazines from that era and meticulously scrapbooked clippings. Capturing the whole picture of Fukase from magazines, rather than from edited photobooks, is necessary to trace the full scope of photographers of Fukase's era, but it's not something that can be easily done. After all, camera magazines were popular media in that era, and there were countless issues, so tracking where things were published is an extremely difficult task, almost enough to make you want to give up.

—How do you manage your original prints, Mr. Fukase?


Kosuga previously had a predecessor organization, but took over when that organization ceased operations. Based on the original prints that Fukase created during his lifetime, we have held retrospective exhibitions in various countries around the world and produced books. Photography is a reproducible medium, so if you have a negative, you can make as many prints as you want. However, in reality, even something as simple as the printing method can result in completely different prints depending on who is doing the printing. Fukase was someone who produced his own prints during his lifetime, and the prints he printed have received the seal of approval from industry professionals in Europe who work in the professional field. It is not easy to reproduce the quality that Fukase aimed for during his lifetime in this day and age. Therefore, we try to avoid creating new prints as much as possible, and instead want people to experience Fukase's work as authentically as possible by showing them the remaining prints.

—As a result of unearthing and exhibiting his work, major retrospectives have been held overseas, and his work is being re-evaluated and appreciated as if it were something the times were calling for.


I think all of Kosuga Fukase's fans have been waiting for this moment for a long time. For 20 years, since the sudden fall accident in 1992, Fukase's work had been buried in obscurity. Even though people wished to see it, their wishes could not be fulfilled. My job is to boldly lift that lid. And to introduce the works he left behind to the world in the form of exhibitions and books, while conveying to everyone how to enjoy them.
Aota: As a fashion brand, we are always conscious of the times. A T-shirt featuring the work "Sasuke," photographed in 1977 or 1978, will be released in 2020. I'm sure you'll feel a mysterious charm that transcends time. The "life" of Fukase-san captured in the background of "Sasuke" is a lost sense of the times, and it's a little different from today's society. It's a photograph from a while ago, but there's something about it that is definitively irreplaceable. And ultimately, I think that the opportunity for a work to be unearthed depends on the mediator. Without someone like Tomo-san, it would remain buried forever. There are photographers and artists who have talent but never see the light of day, so I think it's no small feat that this was unearthed with such enthusiasm, and we also feel the importance of passing it on.

—Finally, how would you like people to view this T-shirt?


Art and fashion seem close, yet there's a strange distance between them. I hope that through these T-shirts, we can bridge that gap and create an opportunity for fans of each culture to connect with different cultures. I also hope that this will be an opportunity for people to learn more about photographer Masahisa Fukase and the brand Rivola. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's reactions.
Kosuga: I'm always conscious of passing things on to the next generation. If it ends with my generation, the work of archiving itself becomes meaningless. The reason I deliberately chose to hold Fukase's first retrospective at Diesel Art Gallery, rather than an art gallery, was because I wanted young people to know about him and become interested in him. In that sense, I'm looking forward to more people becoming interested in Fukase as a result of this T-shirt.

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