Masaru Tatsuki: The End. ~April 1, 2014 (Signed)

Masaru Tatsuki's "Owari." is a photobook documenting the end of deer hunting in Tohoku, a practice that had continued for over half a century, and quietly captures the changes in the land and people's lives after the earthquake and tsunami.

The backdrop to the book is the decision of a long-time deer hunter to give up hunting after radioactive substances were detected in venison, making it inedible. The act of entering the mountains, pursuing animals, and taking their lives was not merely a livelihood but a way of life deeply rooted in the land itself. With its large format and concise page layout, fragments of people, forests, tools, and atmospheres are presented with quiet intensity.

The title "Owari." (The End.) signifies not only the retirement of a single hunter but also the disruption of a cultural way of life passed down through generations in the region. This book does not directly photograph the earthquake and tsunami itself but rather gazes at the practices lost in its aftermath, thus capturing the reality of Tohoku from a deeper perspective. Among Tatsuki's continuous work on Tohoku, this book profoundly imprints the irreversibility of time.

[Title] Owari. ~ April 1, 2014
[Publisher] SUPER BOOKS
[Publication Date] October 10, 2014 / Limited to 500 copies
[Page Count] 24 pages
[Size] Approx. 300*300*3mm / 218g
[Format] Softcover
[Language] Japanese, English
[Title Reading] OWARI.
[Author/Editor] Masaru Tatsuki / Author, Yoshiki Ochiai (Garage) / Design
[Printing] Sankei Sogo Printing / Printing & Binding
[ISBN] None
[Condition] Used, Edition 321/500, Signed [8] Excellent to Good
[Accessories] -
[Featured In]
[Related Exhibition] March-April 2012 SLANT (Kanazawa)

Masaru Tatsuki

Born in Toyama Prefecture in 1974. Photographer.
Began working as a freelance photographer in 1998. In the same year, he encountered art trucks (dekotora) and spent nine years traveling across Japan, photographing trucks and their drivers. In 2007, he published the photobook "DECOTORA" (Little More).
From 2006, he continuously visited the Tohoku region, deeply engaging with its people, culture, and nature through his photography. In 2011, he released the photobook "Tohoku" (Little More).
This work earned him the 37th Ihei Kimura Award.

Since then, he has continued to create works with themes of the body, labor, and memories of the land. His major photobooks include "Sono Chi wa Mada Akai no ka" (SLANT), "KURAGARI" and "Owari." (both from SUPER BOOKS), and "Gyojin" (T&M Projects).

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Masaru Tatsuki