Photographic Encounters in Postwar Japan, 1945-1955

This monograph examines photographs that Japanese and Americans took of Japan and each other amidst the social, political, economic, and cultural upheaval of the postwar period.
Emily E. Cole argues that photography created a dynamic cultural and visual space where photographers interacted and used the camera as a tool of community and creation, representation and resistance, and control and influence on shaping Japan's postwar narrative. Particular focus is placed on amateur photography in comparison to professional photography and how individuals employ the camera as a powerful tool for community building against dominant narratives promulgated by authorities.

Emily E. Cole is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Introduction: As the Dust Settled
Chapter 1: Structures of Seeing in War and Occupation
Chapter 2: The Meeting Space of Magazines
Chapter 3: Sunday Photographers
Chapter 4: Imag(in)ing the Cultural Nation
Chapter 5: Encoding Difference
Chapter 6: Landscape with Life
Chapter 7: Mediating Occupation Authority Epilogue: The Subjective Turn