Shotaro Shimomura XXI (1883-1944) was Chairman of The Daimaru Inc., a department store chain that traces its roots to a single store opened in Kyoto in 1717. Mr. Shimomura was named President of the company in 1907 and toured Europe and the United States the following year to study the management of department stores. He took these photographs on a subsequent trip around the world in 1934 and 1935, prior to establishing a subsidiary trading company.

The remarkable photographs in this exhibition are from a set of 30 toned silver prints, some on textured paper. Each 6″ x 8″ photograph is protected by a tissue guard with its title in Japanese and English. The prints are housed in an elegant pawlonia wood box, carved with the photographer’s initials. Mr. Shimomura presented these photographs to close friends and relatives upon his return. He also exhibited his work in the Ashiya Photo Salons of 1935, 1936 and 1937. Many years after the photographer’s death, his images were featured in the art magazine Geijyutu Shinchou.

The photographs of Shotaro Shimomura combine the best elements of the Pictorialist and Modernist styles current in the 1930s. We are pleased to participate in the rediscovery of these important works.