楽屋の顔 (Gakuya no Kao) — 金神徴三

A raw, unsettling study of performance and identity at the margins of Japanese theatre. This photobook isolates actors backstage, capturing masked faces, heavy makeup and moments of psychological transition before or after the stage. Shot in the postwar period and published in the 1970s, it aligns with the era’s interest in underground culture and corporeal expression. The tight framing and stark contrasts turn each portrait into a confrontation, where ritual, disguise and vulnerability collapse into a single image.

Technical Sheet
Title: 楽屋の顔 (Gakuya no Kao)
Artist / Author: 金神徴三
Date: 1975
Medium / Materials: Photobook (offset print)
Language: Japanese
Publisher / Editor: 日本カメラ社
Condition: Good (light wear to cover, aging to pages)