Saimon Fujio: Shanghai-jin

A photo book capturing the everyday life of the city and the raw feelings of its people in Shanghai, a city in the midst of rapid transformation. 『Shanghai-jin』.

The romanticized image of Shanghai that the photographer had in mind before shooting was betrayed the moment he set foot on the actual city. The smell of food mixed with the humid air, people walking quickly around, and chaos overflowing on the streets. Pickpockets, price negotiations, and cheap restaurants that will make you sick -- all of these were the reality of this city.

Nevertheless, as the artist spent his days there, he found himself drawn to Shanghai. The resilience of its people and their determination to live remain even in the harsh environment. At night, especially, in the alleys where the excessive light has disappeared, a silence that seems to transcend time and space hangs in the air, and only the sense of being alive remains.

Residential areas and markets spread out between skyscrapers, a "raw chaos" of live and cooked chickens lined up side by side. These scenes don't just seem strange, but the gaze of the people who live there is so strong, they accept reality head-on.

"Shanghai-jin" is a book that does not tell the story of a changing city from the outside, but rather records it while walking and drifting within it.

[Title] Shanghai-jin
[Publisher] Korinsha Publishing
[Date of publication] October 4, 1997
[Number of pages] Unpaginated
[Size] Approx. 264 x 186 x 18 mm, 0.80 kg
[Format] Hardcover
[Title reading] Shang Haijin
[Authors/Editors] Fujio Saimon/Author, Ryoko Saimon/Art Direction
[Printing] Toppan Printing
[ISBN] 4-7713-0267-7
[Condition] Used [ 6 ] Above average to average (front and back covers slightly worn, slight fading on three sides)
[Accessories] None
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Saimon Fujio (1960-)

Born in Osaka in 1960.
Graduated from Osaka Photography College.
After graduating, he continued to travel intermittently to America, Europe, India, Nepal, China, and other countries, taking photographs and exploring his own unique style of expression during his travels.

He discovered portrait photography of Chinese people through his experiences traveling through rural China from 1993 to 1997. He made his debut with the photo collection CHINESE LIVE (Parco Publishing, 1996), which explored the depths of China and confronted its people head-on.

Since then, he has published works centered on human portraits both in Japan and abroad, including "STAR KIDS," "Shanghai People" (Korinsha), and "Tokyo Carnival" (Shinchosha).
He also works in the fields of advertising and fashion photography, and has published magazines such as "Kaigan Erotica," "Monthly Yamada Mariya," and "Monthly Okina Megumi" through Shinchosha.

In 1998, he was awarded the Kodansha Publishing Culture Award for Photography in 2001 for his work on Tokyo Carnival. He has published around 20 photo books.
In recent years, he has continued to create works based in Bali, Indonesia, and has published works such as "Sea of Dogs" (Kodansha, 2005), which feature photographs of free-living dogs.

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