Masahisa Fukase, Family

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"My entire family, whose image I see inverted in the frosted glass, will die one day. This camera, which reflects and freezes their images, is actually a device for archiving death". – Masahisa Fukase

Family (Kazoku), the final photobook by renowned Japanese photographer Masahisa Fukase, offers a deeply personal exploration of family, legacy, and impermanence. The Fukase family ran a photography studio for three generations in Bifuka, a small town in Hokkaido. In 1971, at 35 years old, Fukase returned to his hometown from Tokyo and saw the studio, managed by his younger brother, as the ideal setting for a series of family portraits. From 1971 to 1989, Fukase revisited Bifuka, using the large-format Anthony view camera to capture the evolving family group.

In true Fukase style, he often added third-party models and humorous elements to contrast the inescapable reality of time passing and the family’s gradual decline. The series continued through the loss of his father in 1987 and ended with the studio’s closure in 1989 due to bankruptcy, which led to the family’s dispersal.

Published in 1991, Family (Kazoku) opens with an image of the family studio, followed by 31 sequential portraits taken in the studio. The book features reflective text by Fukase and an essay by Tomo Kosuga, who contextualizes this poignant work within Fukase’s life and career.