Mika Ninagawa (蜷川 実花, Ninagawa Mika, born October 18, 1972) is a Japanese photographer and director, known for her brightly colored photographs of flowers, goldfish, and landscapes.

Mika Ninagawa
蜷川 実花
Head and shoulders shot of Mika Ninagawa
Mika Ninagawa in July 2012
Born (1972-10-18) October 18, 1972 (age 52)
Tokyo, Japan
Occupation(s)Photographer, film director
Websiteninamika.com

Biography

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Daughter of acclaimed theatre director Yukio Ninagawa, she first came to prominence in the late 1990s as part of Japan's 'Girly Photo' movement (in which amateurs took photos of daily objects). Her work was first exhibited outside Japan in 1997 at the Parisian concept store Colette (boutique), and in 2001 she received the 26th Kimura Ihei Award (Japan's most prestigious photography award).[1]

In 2014, she was appointed as an executive board member of the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2020. [2]

Work

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Ninagawa has enjoyed significant commercial success in fashion and advertising. She made her debut as a full-length film director in 2007 with Sakuran. In September 2010, her music video for the AKB48 song "Heavy Rotation" was released. She directed the live action film adaptation of the manga Helter Skelter in 2012. In 2020, her web series directorial debut was with Netflix's Followers.[3]

Alongside photographers like Hiromix and Yurie Nagashima they were important figures in a 90s photographic movement. This movement, influenced by cultural changes, point & shoot cameras, and 'Purikura' (Print Club) culture, featured Japanese teenagers, especially girls, creating a new visual style. [4]

Awards

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Photography

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Exhibitions

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  • Into Fiction/Reality, Iwaki City Art Museum, Fukushima, Japan, Apr 13 - May 26, 2019[10]
  • Taichung World Flora Exposition, Taichung, Taiwan, Nov 03, 2018 - Apr 24, 2019[11]
  • Hotel Anteroom Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, Jul 14, 2016 - Present [12]
  • Mika Ninagawa: Self-image, Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Jan 24 – May 10, 2015[13]
  • Mika's daydreaming theater [14][15]
  1. Parco Factory, Shibuya Tokyo, Japan, March 20, 2008 - April 7, 2008
  2. Sapporo Parco, Sapporo, Japan, April 25, 2008 - May 11, 2008
  3. Nagoya Parco, Nagoya, Japan, May 17, 2008 - June 2, 2008
  4. Sendai Parco, Sendai, Japan, August 21, 2008 - September 15, 2008

Filmography

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Movies

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TV and Web TV Series

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Music videos

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Year Music video Artist Notes
2007 "Ashita Tenki ni Naare" (明日天気になぁれ)[19] Yuzu
2010 "Heavy Rotation"[20] AKB48 Also produced CD jacket.
2011 "Yobisute Fantasy" (呼び捨てファンタジー)[21] AKB48 Team B Found on the "Ue kara Mariko" single.
2012 "Hanabi" (花火) Sandaime J Soul Brothers Also produced CD jacket.
"Sugar Rush"[22][23] AKB48 Soundtrack for the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph.
"Powder Snow (Eien ni Owaranai Fuyu)" (Powder Snow ~永遠に終わらない冬~) Sandaime J Soul Brothers Also produced CD jacket.
2013 "Girl on Fire"[24] Alicia Keys Special video produced for Japan.
"Pink Spider"[25] Kumi Koda Also produced associated UULA short drama.
"Sayonara Crawl"[26] AKB48
"Issen Ichibyō" (一千一秒)[27] Exile Takahiro
"Ame nochi Harelujah" (雨のち晴レルヤ)[28] Yuzu
2015 "Kaguya"[29] News
2016 "Kimi wa Melody"[30] AKB48
2017 "Flame of Love" Taemin

Books

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  • ピンク・ローズ・スウィート : 蜷川実花写真集. Pink Rose Suite. Tokyo, Japan: Editions Treville, 2001. ISBN 9784309904177.
  • A Piece of Heaven. Tokyo, Japan: Editions Treville, 2002. ISBN 4-309-90493-9. Color photographs.
  • Liquid Dreams. Tokyo, Japan: Editions Treville, 2003. ISBN 4-309-90556-0. Color photographs.
  • On Happiness - Contemporary Japanese Photography. with Midori Mitamura and Toshihiro Komatsu, eds. Tokyo, Japan: Editions Treville, 2003. ISBN 9784309905518. Color Photographs.
  • Acid Bloom. Portland, Ore.: Nazraeli Press, 2004. ISBN 1-59005-066-5. Color photographs.
  • Floating Yesterday. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha, 2005. ISBN 4-06-213075-0. Color photographs.
  • Mika's daydreaming theater Tokyo, Japan: Shueisha, 2008 ISBN 4087712222 ISBN 978-4087712223. Color Photographs. [31][32]
  • Fever - Mizu Natsuki. Bangkok, Thailand: Hankyu Communications, 2008. ISBN 978-4484085081. Color Photographs
  • Ninagawa Baroque. Tokyo, Japan: Artbeat Publishers, 2010. ISBN 9784902080308.
  • Mika Ninagawa. New York : Rizzoli, 2010. ISBN 9780847833979. Color Photographs

Other projects

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Ninagawa was involved in the interior design of the Bar & Cafè on the Bund cafe and bar in Shanghai, China.[33]

Ninagawa was involved in designing the external livery of a new Genbi Shinkansen excursion train scheduled to be operated in Japan by JR East from spring 2016.[34]

She appears alongside fellow Movie director Yūichi Fukuda, in a scene as a couple, in TV Tokyo's 2019 special 2-day drama starring Shun Oguri and Tsuyoshi Muro, "Futatsu no Sokoku" (Two homelands).[35]

References

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  • Yamauchi Hiroyasu (山内宏泰 "Hiroyasu Yamauchi"), "Mika Ninagawa", in Kōtarō Iizawa, ed., Nihon no shashinka 101 (日本の写真家101, 101 Japanese photographers). Tokyo: Shinshokan, 2008. ISBN 978-4-403-25095-8. P.202. (in Japanese)
  1. ^ Mika Ninagawa: In Conversation
  2. ^ Mika Ninagawa: Self-image
  3. ^ "FOLLOWERS, JAPANESE ORIGINAL SERIES LAUNCHES GLOBALLY ON NETFLIX ON FEBRUARY 27, 2020". Netflix. December 4, 2019. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Hiromix: Shaping the Identity of 90s Japanese Female Youth". Sabukaru Online. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  5. ^ New Cosmos of Photography
  6. ^ Photoguide.jp
  7. ^ Asahi.com (archived)
  8. ^ スガシカオ新シングル「アイタイ」ジャケ写&詳細発表. natalie.mu (in Japanese). March 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  9. ^ スガ シカオ、ニューシングル『アイタイ』の詳細を発表. rockinon.com (in Japanese). March 15, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  10. ^ businessinsider.com
  11. ^ Ninamika.com
  12. ^ Hara Museum of Art
  13. ^ "Daydreaming theater exhibition". ninamika.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Mika Ninagawa Biography". japigozzicollection.com. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  15. ^ "窪田正孝、斎藤工、小栗旬ら「Diner」で殺し屋役、藤原竜也が息巻く特報も公開". natalie.mu (in Japanese). February 5, 2019. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  16. ^ 小栗旬、太宰治役で減量 蜷川実花監督と「人間失格」誕生秘話映画化. cinematoday.jp (in Japanese). December 3, 2018. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  17. ^ "神木隆之介と柴咲コウのW主演で「xxxHOLiC」実写映画化、監督は蜷川実花". Natalie. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  18. ^ "ゆず 明日天気になぁれ". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  19. ^ "AKB48 ヘビーローテーション". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  20. ^ "AKB48 呼び捨てファンタジー". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  21. ^ "AKB48、全世界挿入歌「Sugar Rush」初披露 -映画『シュガー・ラッシュ』" (in Japanese). Mynavy News. October 31, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  22. ^ "AKB48、ディズニー映画曲「Sugar Rush」で世界デビュー" (in Japanese). Natalie. October 31, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  23. ^ "ALICIA KEYS GIRL ON FIRE DIRECTED BY MIKA NINAGAWA". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  24. ^ "倖田來未 ピンクスパイダー(Short Ver.)". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  25. ^ "AKB48 さよならクロール". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  26. ^ "EXILE TAKAHIRO 一千一秒". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  27. ^ "ゆず 雨のち晴レルヤ". Space Shower. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  28. ^ "NEWS KAGUYA". Space Shower. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  29. ^ "AKB48 ミュージックビデオサーチ". Space Shower. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  30. ^ 蜷川実花 (March 2008). Ninagawamosogekijyo ~Mika's Daydreaming Theater~ (in Japanese). 集英社. ISBN 978-4087712223.
  31. ^ "蜷川実花 - 蜷川妄想劇場 -mika's daydreaming theater-". najad.blog20.fc2.com (in Japanese). June 1, 2008. Archived from the original on March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  32. ^ "shanghairose". shanghairose.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  33. ^ "Stunning Shinkansen, dubbed 'world's fastest art exhibition,' hits the rails". Asia & Japan Watch. Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  34. ^ ムロツヨシ、小栗旬からのドッキリに「何してるの!?」福田雄一&蜷川実花のサプライズ登場に動揺. thetv.jp (in Japanese). March 20, 2019. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
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