Untitled (hiyoshi-mamoru)

A twenty-fourth untitled print by Hiyoshi Mamoru. His Korean subjects exist in a historical context that requires careful consideration: produced during the period of Japanese colonial administration and its aftermath, these images of Korean traditional life were made by an artist from the colonial power documenting the culture of the colonized. The ethical complexity of this position does not diminish the documentary value of the images, but it is a dimension of their meaning that contemporary viewers must hold alongside their aesthetic appreciation.