This epic Japanese photography festival has come to the UK for the first-time in a special exhibition

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Japan House London is currently showcasing their first-ever photography exhibition in the form of Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai from KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival. As one of Asia’s largest photography festivals this exhibition also marks KYOTOGRAPHIE festival’s first UK exhibition. The exhibition presents two major Japanese photographers: Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai, whose work explores post-war Japan, celestial phenomena, the turn of the century, cherry blossom. It runs until 18 October…

Kyotographie exhibition text — Kyotographie exhibition Image by Florent Michel © Japan House London

Kawada Kikuji

Kawada’s diverse and prolific output is often interpreted as an ever-evolving view of Japan’s identity, starting in the years of national reconstruction following World War II. He came to prominence in the 1960s, when he founded the VIVO collective, a groundbreaking group of emerging photographers, and was exhibited at MoMA, New York in 1974. In 2011, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Photographic Society of Japan.

Kyotographie features works from Kawada’s series Chizu (The Map, 1965), which went on to form arguably Japan’s most important photobook, abstractly capturing the scars of postwar Hiroshima. Comprising urban snapshots, Los Caprichos (1968-1981) marks a decisive break from previous generations of Japanese photographers. The selection of Kawada’s works has been curated by Sayaka Takahashi from PGI gallery in Tokyo.

Kawada Kikuji from the series The Map © Kikuji Kawada Courtesy PGI

Iwane Ai

Iwane hails from Tokyo and attended high school in the United States. Much of her work is transnational in nature, such as her series Kipuka (2018), exploring the lives of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. Originally photographing on assignment for magazines, her award-winning work has been shown at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum as well as galleries and museums around the world.

Iwane’s A New River (2020) is also displayed within the exhibition. The series is taken in the Tо̄hoku region during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring cherry blossoms at night accompanied by supernatural folkloric figures, exploring themes of isolation, transience and hope. These will be shown alongside her Kipuka (2018) series, depicting Japanese communities in Hawaii with roots in Fukushima.

Kyotographie festival

The team behind one of Asia’s biggest photography festivals is directing the exhibition at Japan house London – their first such project in the UK. Founded in 2013, Kyotographie International Photography Festival takes place in Kyoto each spring, with 2025’s festival welcoming almost 300,000 visitors. Iwane and Kawada featured in the festival in 2022 and 2024 respectively, but the Kyotographie exhibition at Japan House London is the first time that they have exhibited together.