FOTO MAGAZINE maIn (Man) Issue 1

The first issue of the photography magazine "maIn," launched in 1996 by Miyako Ishiuchi and Asako Narahashi, two of Japan's leading photographers.

The title "maIn" combines their initials and is also derived from the French word "main" meaning "hand." Despite being independently produced and self-published by two women, it was more than just a zine or mini-comic, becoming one of the most interesting movements to consider in Japanese photography after the 1990s.

At a time when the influence of camera magazines was waning, Ishiuchi and Narahashi chose to create a platform for "presenting ongoing work" themselves. Each issue of the magazine featured their respective works, as well as interviews, photobook reviews, and guest introductions. One can sense their intention to not only "exhibit" photographs but also to record and preserve them as a time-based medium through a magazine.

In the first issue, Asako Narahashi presented a series that would lead to her later masterpiece "NU・E," while Miyako Ishiuchi published "Fathers," which documented the death of her father. The issue also includes a text by Ishiuchi about Kikuji Kawada's "The Map."

A total of 10 issues were published from 1996 to 2000. It is a fascinating series for considering independent photographic expression, self-publishing culture, and the history of female photographers' activities.

[Title] FOTO MAGAZINE maIn (Main) Issue 1
[Publisher] maIn Editorial Office
[Publication Date] March 3, 1996
[Pages] 30 pages
[Size] Approx. 183*257*2mm / 88g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] MAN 1 GOU
[Author/Editor] Miyako Ishiuchi/Author, Editor, Publisher, Asako Narahashi/Author, Editor, Publisher, Tetsuya Ishizuka/Design
[Printing] Gendaisha/Printing
[ISBN] None
[Condition] Used [4] Good (Spine slightly damaged, corners slightly bent)
[Accessories] None
[Featured in] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Miyako Ishiuchi (Ishiuchi Miyako) 1947-

Born in Gunma Prefecture. Photographer.
Dropped out of Tama Art University, Department of Textile Design. Began photography in the 1970s and gained significant attention with her self-published "APARTMENT" in 1978, followed by "Yokosuka Story" and "Endless Night."

Starting from Yokosuka, the US military base town where she spent her childhood, she consistently photographed the traces of America left in post-war Japan, urban memories, bodies, clothing, and traces of time. From her early works with rough grain and strong contrast to her later works focusing on scars,遺品 (belongings of the deceased), and clothing, she has established a unique position in the history of Japanese photography.

In the 1980s, she published works on the theme of women's bodies of the same generation, such as "Classmates" and "1・9・4・7." After the 1990s, she developed works such as "Scars," "Mother's," and "Hiroshima," quietly capturing memories, death, and traces of existence through scars engraved on the body, items left behind by atomic bomb victims, and her mother's clothing and personal belongings.

In 2005, she was selected as the representative artist for the Japan Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale. In 2014, she received the Hasselblad International Award in Photography, an international award in the field of photography. She is highly regarded both in Japan and internationally as one of Japan's leading photographers.

Major awards include the Photographic Society of Japan New Artist Award (1979), the 11th Kimura Ihei Award (1981), the 50th Mainichi Art Award (2009), and the Hasselblad International Award (2014).

Her works are housed in museums around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Tate Modern, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

Asako Narahashi (Narahashi Asako) 1959-

Born in Tokyo. Photographer.
Graduated from Waseda University, School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II, specializing in art. Participated in Daido Moriyama's workshop "Photo Session" in the mid-1980s while still a student. Held her first solo exhibition "Haru wa Akebono" in 1989, and the following year, in 1990, established the independent gallery "03FOTOS." This venue, which operated until 2001, became one of the important hubs for independent expression and self-publishing culture in Japanese photography after the 1990s.

In 1997, she published her first photobook "NU・E." She gained attention for her works capturing cities, aquariums, and nightscapes with a unique sense of color and distance.
Around 2000, she began her representative series "half awake and half asleep in the water," which involves photographing while floating on the water's surface. The floating, disorienting landscapes captured while drifting on the sea or lakes evoke a unique sensation, like drifting between dream and reality, and have received high acclaim both in Japan and abroad.

Since then, she has published "Ever After," "Approaching and Receding," "Biwako," and "Haru wa Akebono." Characterized by quiet colors, a sense of floating, and a bodily perspective, she continues to create works with themes of cities, watersides, travel, and the sensation of time.

She also co-published the photography magazine "maIn" (1996-2000) with Miyako Ishiuchi, playing a significant role in the independent publishing and self-gallery culture.

Major awards include the Photographic Society of Japan New Artist Award (1998), the 16th Photo Society Award (2004), and the 24th Higashikawa Award Domestic Artist Prize (2008).

Her works are housed in museums both in Japan and internationally, including the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the J. Paul Getty Museum. 

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Kikuji Kawada, Daido Moriyama, Masumi Kura