Tamasaburo Bando in Tsuru no Sugomori (Nesting of the Cranes), 1976 ©Hiroh Kikai

Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition Persona – Tamasaburo Bando

FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Photo Exhibition

January 5 – March 31, 2026 (The exhibition closes at 16:00 on the final day)

PHOTO HISTORY MUSEUM

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Highlights
Exhibition overview
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Highlights

Hiroh Kikai photographed the young Tamasaburo Bando V in 1976, but kept these unreleased works sealed until shortly before his death in 2020. This exhibition marks their first public showing.
A total of 25 works (scheduled) explore the vision that would lead to Kikai's landmark series Persona through precious vintage prints and modern prints carefully selected from surviving negatives.
The exhibition includes photographs Kikai took of Tamasaburo onstage using a 35mm single-lens reflex camera with a telephoto lens, equipment he rarely used. It also features rare square-format stage photographs taken with a medium-format camera.
A cherished camera given to Kikai by his mentor, philosopher Sadayoshi Fukuda, will be on special display.

Images to be exhibited (Selected Works)

Tamasaburo Bando in Tsuya Monogatari
(Tale of the Wake), 1976 ©Hiroh Kikai

Tamasaburo Bando
in the Dressing Room,
1976 ©Hiroh Kikai

Tamasaburo Bando in Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu
(The Lover's Pledge), 1976 ©Hiroh Kikai

Tamasaburo Bando
in Macbeth,
1976 ©Hiroh Kikai

About the exhibition

Hiroh Kikai is renowned for his extensive Persona series, which features portraits of people taken at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. This exhibition marks the first public showing of a total of 25 works, including valuable vintage prints of Kikai's images of Tamasaburo Bando V shot in 1976, before he achieved recognition as a professional photographer, along with modern prints carefully selected from surviving negatives.

Commissioned by Tamasaburo's older brother, Kikai accompanied the actor to performances in various locations from May to November 1976. Tamasaburo was 26 years old at the time, and Kikai was 31. During this period, Tamasaburo, who was already firmly established as a kabuki actor, was enthusiastically expanding his range as a performer, taking on Western classics and contemporary plays as well. The prints developed in Kikai's darkroom were sealed away for many years. It was not until 40 years later, while confined to his sickbed, that Kikai revisited the prints and signed them.

This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see the young Tamasaburo Bando in roles such as Lady Macbeth (a legendary performance still remembered today) and in Yukio Mishima's Modern Noh Plays, while tracing the vision that would culminate in Persona, now synonymous with the work of Hiroh Kikai, and appreciating anew the depth of his art.

About the Persona Series

Creative expression may be the greatest luxury in life.
— From the foreword to Hiroh Kikai's Persona: The Final Chapter

The word persona comes from Latin and means “person,” “personality,” or “role.” Originally, it referred to the masks worn by actors in ancient theater. Beginning in 1973, Hiroh Kikai spent 45 years photographing portraits of people on the grounds of Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. The first installment of this series was presented as Portraits of Kings. In 1999, at an exhibition in Poland organized at the invitation of film director Andrzej Wajda, who was deeply moved by Kikai's work, the title Persona was used for the first time. It has since become synonymous with both Kikai and his portraits, and the title of this exhibition honors this legacy.

Profile

Website

Hiroh Kikai

Born in 1945 in Sagae, Yamagata Prefecture.
Kikai enrolled in the Department of Philosophy at Hosei University, where he studied under philosopher Sadayoshi Fukuda. After graduation, he began taking photographs while working at various occupations, including truck driver and crew member on a deep-sea tuna fishing boat. Pursuing his themes with uncompromising dedication, he began photographing people at Sensoji Temple in Asakusa in 1973, and also shot extensively in India and throughout Tokyo.
Major photo books include Persona, India, and Tokyo Meiro (Tokyo Labyrinth). He won the 3rd Ina Nobuo Award in 1993.

He received the 23rd Domon Ken Award in 2004 for his photo book Persona. Kikai died in 2020 at the age of 75.

Website

Message from Tamasaburo Bando V

It has been half a century since I first met Mr. Kikai. He first photographed me in Nagoya when I was in my twenties and continued to take numerous stage shots of me thereafter. The works shown here, including Tsuru no Sugomori, Kamikakete Sango Taisetsu, and Tsuya Monogatari, are especially memorable to me, particularly Tsuya Monogatari, in which I appeared at Chunichi Theatre.
Mr. Kikai frequently attended the theater and captured many wonderful moments. Seeing these photographs again brings back wonderful memories of those days.

Tamasaburo Bando V

Kabuki actor, actor, film director, and stage director. Born in Tokyo.
Tamasaburo made his stage debut in December 1957 under the name Kinoji Bando, appearing as Kotaro in Terakoya (Temple School). In 1964, he became the adopted artistic son of Morita Kanya IV, and in June of the same year assumed the name Tamasaburo Bando V, performing as Otama in Shinju Yaiba wa Kori no Tsuitachi (Love Suicides' Blade on the Icy First of the Month) and other roles.
He was designated a Living National Treasure (Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Properties) in 2012. He received the rank of Commandeur in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2013 and the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2014.
Recognized in the kabuki world as a top onnagata (female-role specialist), Bando continues to play a leading role in the performing arts both in Japan and abroad.

Website

Sadayoshi Fukuda

Philosopher born in 1917 in Tokyo. Died in 2002 at the age of 85.
Fukuda became a professor at Hosei University in 1948, and resigned in 1970 during campus unrest. He was known for pursuing a philosophy rooted in the sensibilities of ordinary people. As a student, Hiroh Kikai took part in weekly meetings held under Fukuda's guidance. Their mentor–mentee relationship continued until Fukuda's death, and Kikai cherished and used a camera given to him by his teacher throughout his life.

Exhibition overview

Title	FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Photo Exhibition Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition: Persona – Tamasaburo Bando
Dates	January 5 (Mon) – March 31 (Tue), 2026
Time	10:00 – 19:00 (Until 16:00 on the final day. Entry is allowed up to 10 minutes before closing.) Open every day for the full duration of the exhibition.
Venue	FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum
Admission	Free * This exhibition is being held as a corporate MECENAT activity. We are pleased to announce that admission is free to enable more people to attend.
Number of works	25 gelatin silver prints (scheduled)
Organized by	FUJIFILM Corporation
Supported by	Minato City Board of Education
Planning Cooperation	Tamasaburo Bando
Planned by	Hiroh Kikai Photo Office, Temporary Contemporary

* Please note that circumstances may force us to suspend or modify the exhibition or the events. Thank you for your understanding.
* We kindly request that you do not send congratulatory flowers.

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Related Events

Gallery Talk

Dates / Times	January 18 (Sun), 2026, 14:00–14:30 (Admission free, registration not required)
Venue	FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum
Guest	Takako Kikai (President, Hiroh Kikai Photo Office)
Moderator	Yumi Maruyama (exhibition curatorial team member, editor)
Topics	Memories of his father, photographer Hiroh Kikai

* The gallery talk will be held in the photo exhibition venue, and seating will not be available. Thank you for your understanding.
* Please note that the related events is subject to change or cancellation due to circumstances.

EXHIBITION

Eadweard Muybridge, Gallop; thoroughbred bay mare Annie G.,
photographed in 1884–1885, from Animal Locomotion.

Animal Locomotion as the Origin of Moving Images
Eadweard Muybridge: The Man Obsessed with Sequence Photography

FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Photo Exhibition

October 1 – December 26, 2025

PHOTO HISTORY MUSEUM

Hiroh Kikai Photo Exhibition Persona – Tamasaburo Bando

FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo History Museum Photo Exhibition

January 5 – March 31, 2026

PHOTO HISTORY MUSEUM

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Not many museums focus on the historical evolution of the photographic arts and cameras like you will discover here. More than 190 years of history are recounted through exhibits of antique cameras and Fujifilm products, as well as periodic exhibitions of historically significant photos. You will revel at how photography has transitioned over the years.

In 2025, the Photo History Museum was formally approved by the Association for Corporate Support of the Arts for its “contributions to society through the promotion of arts and culture” and was permitted to use the official “This is MECENAT 2025” mark.