Wonderful Days

Masahisa Fukase's photobook "Wonderful Days." In 1964, when Fukase and his wife Yoko began their life in Matsubara Danchi in Soka City, Saitama Prefecture, their Siamese cat Kabo joined them. Several years later, while fishing, Fukase found Kuro, a black cat. This photobook captures the days the couple spent with these two cats.

This book contains previously unreleased works from the 1960s, predating Fukase's later, repeated photographs of his beloved cat Sasuke. It was produced based on a limited number of vintage prints that remained. While showing cats and humans coexisting in the same living space, the photographs also capture the sharp gaze and wild expressions of Kabo and Kuro, revealing a unique distance that transcends mere intimacy.

Edited by Michitaka Ota, with text by Tomo Kosuga, and book design by Katsuya Kato. The cover features white foil stamping on gray cardboard, codex binding, and fiber lafa processing on the fore-edge. The deliberate fuzziness and rough texture of the fore-edge add a unique handmade feel and playfulness. Printing and binding by Yamada Shashin Seihansho. The book contains 29 works on 64 pages and was published in 2015 by roshin books in a limited edition of 800 copies.

Fukase repeatedly turned his camera to those close to him, such as his wife, family, his own father, and cats. Among these, this book traces the time when a young Fukase and Yoko lived with their two cats.

[Title] Wonderful Days
[Publisher] roshin books
[Date of Publication] July 2, 2015
[Number of Pages] 64 pages
[Illustrations] 29 works
[Dimensions] Approx. 210 x 231 x 12mm / 435g
[Format] Hardcover, Codex binding
[Language] Japanese, English
[Title Reading] WONDERFUL DAYS
[Author/Editor, etc.] Masahisa Fukase / Photographs, Michitaka Ota / Editor, Tomo Kosuga / Text, Katsuya Kato / Book Design
[Printing/Binding] Yamada Shashin Seihansho
[ISBN] 9784990723033
[Condition] Used [7] Good (Slight dirt on cover)
[Accessories] -
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibitions] -

Masahisa Fukase (1934–2012)

Born in Hokkaido in 1934. Photographer.

After graduating from Nihon University College of Art with a degree in photography, he worked at Daiichi Senhansha, Kawade Shobo Shinsha, and other companies while continuing his photographic work, and became a freelance photographer in the 1960s. He repeatedly focused his camera on those close to him, such as his wife Yoko, his family, and his daily life, including the series featuring his wife Yoko.

From the 1970s onward, he published works such as "Ravens," "Sasuke," "Family," and "Father's Memories." In his works featuring the cat Sasuke, he incorporated his life with the cat into his photographs, which became one of Fukase's representative works.

His career as a photographer ceased after an accident in 1992. He passed away in 2012. Even after his death, the organization of his unreleased works and the publication of photobooks continue.

< Related Figures >

Yoko Fukase
Sasuke
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