Skin of the Nation

Skin of the Nation is a definitive collection of photographs by Shomei Tomatsu, one of Japan's most significant postwar photographers. The work captures the profound social and cultural shifts in Japan during the mid-to-late 20th century, moving from the immediate aftermath of World War II to the rapid modernization and urbanization of the subsequent decades. Published in collaboration with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Yale University Press, the volume serves as both a personal archive and a historical record. It explores themes of identity, landscape, and human experience through Tomatsu's distinct aesthetic, which blends documentary realism with a poetic sensibility. The publication provides an essential visual history of Japan's evolution into a global economic power.