Elise Voyay: “‘Toward the Depth of the Gaze’: Taki Kōji and Discourses on Photography in Post-68 Japan”5.12.2025 {en}
The International Japanese Studies Group in the Institute for Humanities Research at Kanagawa University is pleased to announce the following lecture:
“Toward the Depth of the Gaze”: Taki Kōji and Discourses on Photography in Post-68 Japan
Elise Voyau
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Cross-Cultural and Japanese Studies Kanagawa University
Wednesday, 17 December 2025 (hybrid)
15:30–17:00
Room 6019
Kanagawa University, Minatomirai Campus
Yokohama
Abstract
The late 1960s in Japan were marked by large-scale protest movements, largely led by students. Within the field of visual arts, this was also a period in which photography theory began to develop, driven by a number of influential photographer-critics—in particular those who co-founded the magazine Provoke in 1968: Taki Kōji, Nakahira Takuma, and Okada Takahiko, together with photographers Moriyama Daidō and Takanashi Yutaka. Although the magazine is better known today, few studies have explored what happened after, in the 1970s.
This presentation focuses on the figure of Taki Kōji who, coming from an academic background, was briefly a photographer, then a curator, and a critic. His writings are generally discussed only in relation to his participation in Provoke, at the height of the student movements. Here, I propose to examine his work from 1972 onwards, a year that represents the symbolic end of the protests. I will especially interrogate the recurrent theme of the gaze (manazashi) he explored through his writings on photography, the exhibitions he curated, and his collaborations with photographers.
Thinking about the gaze compels one to question the dynamics of power between who looks and who is looked at. Taki also seeks to move away from an author-centred logic by no longer limiting the gaze to that of the photographer, but expanding it to include all those in media societies who consume and read images. His reflections on the place of humans in the world, on image technologies, and on imperialism and capitalism allow us to rethink the legacies of the 1960s protest movements, their mutations, and their contemporary resonances.
To Attend Online (Zoom):
Access the Zoom Meeting via the following Meeting ID and Passcode. Preregistration is NOT required to attend via Zoom.
Zoomでのご参加は事前登録不要です。当日は下記のZoomミーティングIDとパスコードでログインしてください。
Meeting ID: 975 1891 6410 Passcode: KUMMC
To Attend in Person
Preregistration via the link below at least a day in advance for those coming from outside the KU community is greatly appreciated. If you are coming from off campus, please also register as a Guest at the Information counter near the entrance before coming up to the room.
ご来場の⽅： 神奈川⼤学関係者は事前登録不要です。学外の⽅は前⽇までに下記のリンクにて事前登録をお願いします。当⽇は1FのInformationカウンターでGuest登録を済ませてから、部屋までお越しください。Zoom でのご参加は事前登録不要です。
https://forms.gle/Bde55v1QobARXmCv6
Inquiries・お問い合わせ
James Welker jrwelker[at]kanagawa-u.ac.jp
Future Lectures
The International Japanese Studies Group at Kanagawa University also plans the following future lecture the remainder of the Japanese academic year. All lectures will be from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at our Minatomirai Campus. Please mark your calendars.
For details, please also refer to the flier here: http://human.kanagawa-u.ac.jp/kenkyu/symposium/pdf/autmun_2025.pdf
Wednesday, 21 January 2026 (in person only)
Quintana Scherer, Kanagawa University
Bodies of Proof: Little People, Yokohama-e, and the Imagined Foreigner
Our lectures are generally held three to four times per semester (April–July, September–January) in the second half of the month. Details on upcoming lectures will be announced one to two weeks in advance. If you would like to be on our direct email list to be sure you do not miss an announcement, please contact James Welker (jrwelker[at]kanagawa-u.ac.jp).
Further information: https://forms.gle/Bde55v1QobARXmCv6.
Source: Lecture: Elise Voyay, “‘Toward the Depth of the Gaze’: Taki Kōji and Discourses on Photography in Post-68 Japan” (Kanagawa U., Wed., 17 Dec, 3:30–5pm; Hybrid), H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US.
