Revised and Expanded Edition: The "Colors" of Postwar Kyoto Were Found in America!

A brightly colored post-war Kyoto landscape.

This book compiles and presents color photographs of the city and people of Kyoto, which would have been impossible to take in Japan at the time, from a collection of private photographs taken by American soldiers, GHQ executives, doctors, scholars, and photographers in Kyoto during the post-war occupation period from 1945 to 1952, apart from official images. The images, captured on Kodak Kodachrome color film, which Paul Simon once sang made the world a "sunny day," are a valuable record of Kyoto's changing cityscape over time, including the personal living spaces and relationships of the photographers, roadside scenes of post-war Kyoto, lively children and workers, and buildings that once existed, such as the old Kyoto Station. At the same time, they also evoke reflections on the darker aspects of the post-war era that were not captured.

It is about re-examining familiar landscapes from unfamiliar perspectives, recalling the invisible from the visible, and touching upon the past as something directly connected to the present. This book is a record of this city's past, brought to life through beautiful images and the discussions of researchers.