Manabu Miyazaki : SHI - Death in Nature

Death in the Nature, a photobook by Japanese photographer Manabu Miyazaki, is an unconventional collection of photographs with the theme of the "cycle of life and death" unfolding in nature.
It meticulously chronicles the death of wild animals such as Japanese serows, sika deer, and raccoons, from their discovery to decomposition and their return to the earth, documenting the involvement of different creatures in each season.

The process of decay, consumption by insects and animals, and eventual disappearance of even traces, quietly demonstrates that death is not an end but the beginning of new life. Birds carry away fur as nesting material, microorganisms decompose the remaining organic matter, and everything is returned to the soil. This chain highlights the laws of nature, which differ from human perceptions of life and death. And Miyazaki comes to the realization that "death is the starting point of life."

This book, by directly confronting "death" which we tend to shy away from, encourages us to reconsider the cycle of life and the order of nature.

●Winner of the Photographic Society of Japan Award in 1995

[Title] Shi - Death in Nature
[Publisher] Heibonsha
[Publication Date] November 20, 1994 (first edition)
[Number of Pages] 82 pages
[Size] Approx. 265*259*15mm, 801g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] SHI
[Author/Editor] Manabu Miyazaki/Author, Tamotsu Ejima/Design
[Printing] Tokyo Insatsu Kan/Printing, Wada Seihon/Binding
[ISBN] 4582529364
[Condition] Used 【6】Good to Average (cover top/bottom slightly creased)
[Accessories] Snippet of obi (approx. 1/6 of original)
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Manabu Miyazaki (1949-)

Born in 1949 in Ina Valley, Nagano Prefecture.
After working for a precision machinery company, he became a self-taught photographer, focusing on the relationship between nature and humans. He calls himself a "news photographer of the natural world" and continues to document the ecology of wild animals, mainly mammals and raptors.

He uses unmanned automatic photography equipment incorporating his self-made infrared sensors and small strobes to meticulously visualize the behavior and life activities of animals that are difficult for the human eye to capture. His representative works "Kemonodo (Animal Trails)" and "Fukurou (Owls)" received high acclaim for their detailed records of wild animal behavior and communication.

In 1978, he won the Ehon Nippon Taisho Award for "Fukurou." In 1982, he received the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer's Award for "Washi to Taka (Eagles and Hawks)." In 1990, he won the Domon Ken Award for "Fukurou." In 1995, he received the Photographic Society of Japan Annual Award and the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award for "Shi (Death)."

In 2013, he held a solo exhibition "Manabu Miyazaki: Pencil of Nature" at IZU PHOTO MUSEUM. In 2016, he participated in a group exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (Paris). In 2021, he held a solo exhibition at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum. He continues to exhibit his works both in Japan and abroad.

He also rings an alarm about the relationship between modern society and nature, capturing changes in the ecology of wild animals due to forest development and environmental changes from the perspective of "synanthropic animals" (human-dependent organisms). His stance of re-examining human society from an animal's perspective through photography has pioneered a unique field beyond the scope of documentary photography.

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Manabu Miyazaki, Norimitsu Iwago, Mitsuaki Iwago, Masao Nakamura, Mitsuhiko Imamori