Back in stock in Carte Blanche bookstore: Kazuyoshi Usu’s book Showa 88.   

“Showa 88” was originally conceived as a series of images - a dying gangster sees flashes of his life passing before his eyes. In bringing “Showa 88” to its final form he decided that the power of photography lies more in suggestion rather than the cinematic conception of an explicit narrative, and in this lies the power and maturity of the work.

Not only beauty is in this book but on another level there are significant reflections on Japanese society and history. Japan transformed completely during the 20th Century as the Showa Era gave way to the Heisei era. The manipulative imperialist exploiter of Manchuria in the 1930s turned into the world`s most peaceful nation. The land of the high growth miracle is now the country where GNP has not grown for two decades. The aggressive copier of technology and Western institutions is now the most inward-looking of Asian nations.”

Limited edition of 1000 copies. A garish refreshingly different view in this elegant production.