Mirror of the MARAINI Family: An Ethnologist in 20th-Century Japan

Italian anthropologist Fosco Maraini (1912-2004) was a celebrated mountaineer and photographer. He is also widely known for his photographs of Japan that introduced the vast diversity of Japanese culture to overseas viewers. It was in 1938 that Fosco visited the country for the first time. He lived in Sapporo,then in Kyoto, until Italy surrendered in 1943 during the Second World War, which made him and his family “enemy aliens” to be confined in a camp in Aichi. Their terrible experiences over two years until the end of war not only reflects the political situation in Aichi at that time but also is a mirror of humanity in times of war. This exhibition presents photographs taken by Fosco as well as the material from the time they were confined in the camp, aiming to revisit a history that needs to be remembered.