50th Kimura Ihei Award Commemorative Photography Exhibition at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum from October 31; A Prize for New Photographers Founded in 1975

A photography exhibition commemorating the 50th Kimura Ihei Award, a prize for new photographers, will be held in the B1F gallery of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (Meguro-ku, Tokyo) from Saturday, October 31 to Monday, November 23 (national holiday). The award was founded by The Asahi Shimbun in 1975 and reached a milestone with its 50th edition, announced in March 2026. There have been 62 winners to date. On Thursday, November 19, during the run, a talk show featuring past winners will also be held. Admission is 1,200 yen for adults.

Founded in 1975: a prize for new photographers commemorating Ihei Kimura’s achievements

According to the exhibition flyer, the award was founded by The Asahi Shimbun in 1975 to commemorate the achievements of the photographer Ihei Kimura (1901–1974). Initially, the magazine “Asahi Camera” served as its secretariat, and after Asahi Shimbun Publications was established in 2008, the award became co-organized by that company and The Asahi Shimbun. Since “Asahi Camera” suspended publication in 2020, the marketing department of Asahi Shimbun Publications has served as the secretariat.

The award is open to new photographers who achieved outstanding results in producing and presenting photographs between January and December of each year. Their work may have been presented widely, through photobooks, exhibitions, magazines and other means, and all fields of photographic expression are included. According to Asahi Shimbun Publications’ press materials (March 24, 2026), the winner is chosen at two selection meetings from candidates recommended in a survey of people in the photography world. The main prize is a certificate and a medal, and the supplementary prize is 1 million yen.

Ihei Kimura was also the photographer who became the first president of the Japan Professional Photographers Society in 1950 (according to materials from the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum).

62 winners, with Kanade Hamamoto for the 50th

The winners number 62, from Kazuo Kitai at the 1st award to Kanade Hamamoto at the 50th. There was no winner at the 9th, and some editions had multiple winners; the 26th went to three photographers, Yurie Nagashima, Mika Ninagawa and HIROMIX.

The flyer presents the award-winning works on display not as the debut works of young artists but as milestone bodies of work that each photographer left after moving beyond their early careers. The fields covered range across documentary, snapshot, portrait, nature, personal photography, gender, contemporary art and expression that expands photography.

However, works by some winners will not be shown, and in some cases works other than the award-winning ones will be displayed. A list of exhibiting photographers had still not been posted on the exhibition page as of October 31.

The 50th winner is Kanade Hamamoto, born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 2000. The awarded works were the photobook “-·· (Cho Tan Tan)” (Shinju Shuppan, 2025) and an exhibition of the same name at the Yokohama Civic Art Gallery (2025). Drawing on the memoirs of former members of the “Fukuryu” suicide diver unit, who trained at Nobi Beach in Yokosuka and elsewhere at the end of World War II, Hamamoto created an installation of sound and light using photography and field recordings.

Lieko Shiga, Naoya Hatakeyama and others at a talk show

As a related event, a talk show, “What Changed and What Didn’t After Winning the Kimura Ihei Award,” will be held in the museum’s 1st-floor hall on Thursday, November 19, from 18:30 to 20:00. The scheduled speakers are Masashi Kohara, Lieko Shiga, Tatsuru Nitta and Naoya Hatakeyama. Capacity is 190 on a first-come, first-served basis (entry in order of numbered tickets, unreserved seating), and details will be posted on the Kimura Ihei Award page of Asahi Shimbun Publications.

According to the list of winners in the flyer, Naoya Hatakeyama won the 22nd award, Lieko Shiga the 33rd and Tatsuru Nitta the 47th. From October 31, Shiga will hold the solo exhibition “Lieko Shiga: Nanumo Kanumo” at the Aomori Museum of Art.

Admission, opening hours and access

Admission is 1,200 yen for adults, 1,000 yen for students and those 65 and over and 800 yen for high school students, and free for junior high school students and younger and for holders of a disability certificate and their caregivers (up to two). Discounts are available with the TOPMUSEUM PASSPORT 2026, while Silver Day, Family Day and free admission for the educational activities of exempt groups do not apply. From Thursday, November 5 to Monday, November 23 (national holiday), special evening discounts apply from 17:00 to 20:00 on Thursdays and Fridays: students and high school students are free, and adults and those 65 and over pay the group rate (proof of student status or age required).

Opening hours are 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Thursdays and Fridays), with last entry 30 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on Mondays (if a Monday is a national holiday, it is open and closes on the following weekday instead). The address is 1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (in Yebisu Garden Place), about a 7-minute walk from the East Exit of JR Ebisu Station and about a 10-minute walk from Ebisu Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. There is no dedicated parking.

In the museum’s 3rd-floor gallery, “Reassembling: Contemporary Japanese Photography vol. 23” is on view until January 17, 2027.

Overview

Name: 50th Kimura Ihei Award Commemorative Photography Exhibition
Dates: Saturday, October 31 – Monday, November 23 (national holiday), 2026
Hours: 10:00–18:00 (until 20:00 on Thursdays and Fridays; last entry 30 minutes before closing)
Closed: Mondays (if a national holiday or substitute holiday, open that day and closed the following weekday)
Venue: Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (B1F gallery)
Address: 1-13-3 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (in Yebisu Garden Place)
Admission: Adults 1,200 yen, students and 65 and over 1,000 yen, high school students 800 yen, junior high school students and younger free
Related event: Talk show “What Changed and What Didn’t After Winning the Kimura Ihei Award,” Thursday, November 19, 18:30–20:00, 1st-floor hall, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, first 190 people
Inquiries: 03-3280-0099
Official website: https://topmuseum.jp/exhibition/5478/
*Information as of October 31, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Entrance of the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, July 2014 (photo: Piotrus, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on information on the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum’s official website and exhibition flyer and press materials from Asahi Shimbun Publications (March 24, 2026).

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team