Sasuke: Masahisa Fukase
Sasuke (2021)
Masahisa Fukase
Basically, in the forty years I’ve been on this earth, cats have been following me around like a shadow. “Like a shadow” - it sounds rather photographic, doesn’t it?
(First published in Sasuke!! My Dear Cat, 1978)
I am, and always will be, a cat person. So of course when I see a photobook dedicated to cats I have to pick it up. I actually pre-ordered this during the pandemic, and it came with a matching tote bag, which was a fun surprise.
Sasuke, by Masahisa Fukase, is a love letter to cats, namely the photographer’s two cats: Sasuke and Momoe. Well, technically three cats, because the original Sasuke unfortunately went missing after ten days (hence the posters on the book cover), and although a woman rang the photographer up to report a matching cat in Harajuku, it was unfortunately not the original Sasuke. Even so, the happy ending is that the book is dedicated to Sasuke Two, and his younger sibling, Momoe.
Fukase is best known for his 1986 photobook Ravens, which is a beautifully dark and moody series of photographs of the solitary birds. In comparison, Sasuke feels lighter and more intimate. Rather than exploring shadows and silhouettes, it is almost as if Fukase was exploring the ability of photography to evoke tactility. Fur, whiskers, fangs, the focus is on capturing the textural elements, especially in the close up portraits. You can tell these were beloved members of the family.
xxxx
