Journey to Kumogakure Hot Spring (signed)

Murakami Masakazu's first photo book, taken while touring various hot spring resorts as if escaping from reality.

Rising steam, eroded rock faces, dimly lit bathhouses, drunken guests, alleys, the air of night—landscapes where pleasure and fatigue, loneliness and intimacy, the breath of life and death intermingle are captured in rough-grained monochrome, set against the backdrop of quaint hot spring towns across Japan.

In his late twenties, Murakami once stepped away from photography, only to return to it again during his travels through hot spring resorts. This work does not present picturesque hot spring scenery but rather deeply imprints the humidity and human essence seeping into the land, and the feelings of escape and ecstasy.

Daido Moriyama praised it in the obi as "a fugitive who stood his ground and became a hardened criminal," while Kotaro Iizawa described it as "a timeless 'Japan' atmosphere." Masato Seto's words, "The Japan I love so deeply seeps through here," are also striking.

This book, with its rough grain and strong contrast, evokes the atmosphere of hot spring towns seemingly left behind by time.

[Title] Kumogakure Onsen-yuki (Hot Spring Trip into the Clouds)
[Publisher] Visual Arts College
[Publication Date] 2007
[Pages] 112 pages
[Size] Approx. 22029015mm
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] KUMOGAKURE ONSENYUKI
[Author/Editor, etc.] Murakami Masakazu / Author
[Printing]
[ISBN] 9784861521300
[Condition] Used, signed [6] Good to Fair
[Accessories] Obi
[Featured in] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Murakami Masakazu (村上仁一) 1977-

Born in Tokyo. Photographer, editor.
After graduating from university, he studied photography at Tokyo Visual Arts. In 2000, while still a student, he won the Grand Prix at the 16th "Hitotsubo Exhibition" photography competition and the Grand Award at the 5th Visual Arts Photo Award.

In 2008, he published the photo book "Kumogakure Onsen-yuki," a compilation of his series shot in hot spring resorts across Japan, which he visited as if escaping from reality. He gained attention for his rough monochrome works capturing the humidity and human essence seeping into the land.

From 2008, he worked in the editorial department of "Nippon Camera" magazine, where he was also involved in editing photobooks and works by other photographers. In 2021, he established PCT LLC and operates the website "Photo&Culture, Tokyo." He also serves as editor-in-chief for the photography magazine "Sha Shin" (published by Fugen Publishing), which launched in 2022, thereby contributing as an editor supporting photo culture.

His representative works include "Kumogakure Onsen-yuki," "Chikatetsu Nikki (Subway Diary)," and "Yume no Mata Yume (Dream Within a Dream)."

Major awards include the Grand Prix at the 16th "Hitotsubo Exhibition" photography competition and the Grand Award at the 5th Visual Arts Photo Award.

< Related Figures >

Daido Moriyama, Masato Seto, Kotaro Iizawa, Osamu Kanemura