鬼海 弘雄

Kikai was born in 1945 in the Yamagata Prefecture. After graduating with a degree in philosophy from

Hosei University, he underwent various occupations including a truck driver, a crewmember of an

ocean-going tuna fishing boat, and a photographic developer before making his decision to pursue a

career as a photographer. Since 1973, Kikai has continued to photograph people he encountered in

Asakusa. Numerous publications have been released featuring the series of portraits spanning over 45

years that he had taken there such as, Otachi no shozo: Senso-ji keidai / Ecce homo: Portraits of kings

(1987), Ya-Chimata: Otachi no kairo / Ya-Chimata: A gallery of kings (1996), Persona (2004), and

PERSONA: Saishusho / PERSONA: The Final Chapter (2019). In 2004 he received the 23rd Domon Ken

Award for his published collection of photographs PERSONA. Kikaiʼs selected solo exhibitions include, “

Persona” (Domon Ken Photography Museum, Yamagata Prefecture, 2004), “Tokyo Portraits” (Tokyo

Photographic Art Museum, 2011), and “Persona: The Final Chapter” (Irie Taikichi Memorial Museum of

Photography Nara City, 2019). His works are also housed in the permanent collection of the Interna-

tional Center of Photography (NY).