Japanese photography since 1945 on display at the BnF François-Mitterrand site

Did you know? Since the late 1960s, the Bibliothèque nationale de France has been delving into modern and contemporary Japanese photography. Today, the collection comprises about 4,000 prints by some 200 artists and photojournalists, plus around a hundred magazines and landmark books tracing the history of Japanese photography from 1945 onward. This is exactly what gallery 2 of the BnF François-Mitterrand invites you to discover this autumn, as the bicentennial of photography is celebrated this year.

Entitled "Japanese Photographs from the National Library of France. 1945-2025. Scenes, Signs, Sensations," this exhibition will showcase, for the occasion, the work of around a hundred artists, including names now widely recognized on the international stage, but also other figures who have been less prominently featured.

From September 30, 2026 to January 31, 2027, visitors will be able to trace the evolution of photographic practice in Japan over the last 80 years, showcased by 300 works on display, including 250 photographic prints, predominantly in black and white, and about fifty rare books drawn from the Bibliothèque nationale de France collections.

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The route, divided into six sections, will revisit documentary photography, featuring works by Hiroshi Hamaya and Yoko Yamamoto, as well as more intimate pieces by Shigeo Gocho and Tokuko Ushioda, created in the 1960s–1980s.

Visitors will also encounter photography that has taken on a more theatrical edge, the ties some artists have to Paris, such as Ihei Kimura, Yoshi Takata, Keiichi Tahara, Mamoru Sakamoto, and Jun Shiraoka, not to mention the enigmatic landscapes of Hiroto Fujimoto and Kazuo Amemiya as well as portraits of captured elements, notably by Koichiro Kurita... A constellation of works that traces the history of Japanese photography since 1945. To admire them, head to the BnF François-Mitterrand from 30 September 2026 to 31 January 2027.