Hoko Shimamura

Born into a family of sake brewery in Wakayama City, his given name was Yasusaburo. Submitting watercolor paintings to the magazine Mizue when he was a middle school student, he became a member of Nihon Suisaiga-kai (Japanese Watercolor Society). As he had to abandon his dream of studying art in school due to the need to take over the family business, photography, which he started around the same time as painting, became his lifelong creative endeavor.
In 1912, Shimamura established the photography circle Mokkoku Shayū-kai in Wakayama City. In the 1930s, he became a member of the Nihon Shashin-kai (Japan Photographic Society), founded by Shinzo Fukuhara, and held his first solo exhibition in the Shiseido Gallery in 1939. In a time of transition from “Geijutsu-shashin,” or so-called Pictorialism to “Shinkō Shashin,” or New Photography aimed at objectivity, Shimamura’s unique use of jet-black and tonality earned him high acclaim as “Roso’s white, Hoko’s black” in contrast to his contemporary Roso Fukuhara, Shinzo Fukuhara’s younger brother.
In 1913, during his student time at Keio Gijuku, Shimamura photographed Rokuzan-kan, a collection of sculptures by Morie Ogihara. During the same period, Ryumon Yasuda also visited the same place, which deepened their friendship. The Shimamura family later provided financial support for Yasuda’s study abroad in Paris. In 1927, Shimamura accompanied Wakayama Middle School’s baseball team on their trip to the United States following their victory in the 4th National Middle School Baseball Tournament. During this journey, the group was warmly welcomed by local Kenjinkai, prefectural associations. While on this trip, Shimamura also engaged in his own photography, and there is a possibility that he interacted with local photographers in each location.