In his Senryo (Occupation) series of photographs of people and landscapes around U.S. military bases in Japan, Shomei Tomatsu reexamines postwar Japan through the bases, and in 11:02 NAGASAKI, he retraces the memory of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. He has continued to lead the world of Japanese photography in the postwar era.

Pencil of the Sun is regarded as one of the most important works in Toumatsu’s oeuvre. While Tomatsu focused his camera on a wide range of subjects, he remained focused on Okinawa throughout his life. Since his first encounter with Okinawa in 1969, he has been fascinated by the way the land continues to resist Americanization thanks to its strong and vast spiritual reach. This series is themed around the rituals and customs of Okinawa, the Yaeyama Islands, and Miyakojima, from the time of American occupation until their return to the mainland. He has energetically photographed the lives of the people who live resilient lives despite being at the mercy of the times. His perspective extends beyond Japan to Southeast Asia, and he has earned high praise for his photographic practice that explores the foundations of island culture in the Pacific Rim.