I am a King

First Edition, 1972. 269 pages. 

Book measures 8.5 x 9.5 inches. Softcover in thick french-fold style wrapper dust jacket, with printed cardboard slipcase. B&W images with some color plates throughout. In 1972, at the age of forty-two and already established as one of Japan's most important photographers, Tomatsu moved to Okinawa. I am a King is his major work of this period and gathers portraits of politicians, roadside scenes, 1960's era protests, images of industrial detritus, and the urban skyline. A persistent theme is the Americanization of post-WWII Japan and the upheaval it wrought on traditional Japanese culture. Some of Tomastsu’s journal entries are paired alongside a section of photographs from 1969–70 during the height of the student protests. A very nicely printed and designed photobook, and an important publication by Tomatsu.