The Map
2005
The Map by Kikuji Kawada. First impression of this Nazraeli edition (2005). Medium format slipcased hardback in new condition. Limited edition of 500 numbered copies. Signed by Kikuji Kawada in kanji (Chinese characters) to back end page. Includes a text booklet. No markings. This is a new book. Please see pictures. PayPal accepted, any questions please get on touch.
About The Map
This book portrays a collection of photographs contemplating the recovery and war memories of postwar Japan. It was originally published on August 6, 1965 to commemorate the bombing of Hiroshima. The guiding idea of this memorial is archaeological layering. He uses multi panel foldouts, so the "various layers inside peel away like archaeological strata. The whole process then becomes one of uncovering the aftermath of recent Japanese history. Also, Kawada's photographs are a masterly mix of abstraction and realism. Especially of the specific and the ineffable, woven into a tapestry. This then makes the act of reading them a process of re-creation in itself. The central metaphor of the map is the idea of the map as a series of interlocking trace marks. Here, Kawada has conjured a brilliant simile for the photograph itself: Scientific record, memory trace, cultural repository, puzzle, and guide" This is a wonderfully remade edition by Nazraeli Press.