Quote:Masatoshi NaitÅ was amongst the only photographers to capture the legendary female shamans, known as itako, who invoke the spirits of the dead. Female Shamanism was formerly a widespread phenomenon within Japan, however, it is limited today to this region where esoteric traditions of Japanese folk religion are still practiced. The female shamans photographed are celebrating death, exuberantly mourning by performing celebratory rituals and dancing all night to evoke the spirits of the deceased. (via Michael Hoppen Gallery)
Born in Tokyo in 1938, NaitÅ Masatoshi graduated from Waseda University in applied sciences and trained as a research scientist. A keen interest in the folkloric traditions of rural Japan led him to pursue a career in photography, recording the customs and beliefs which first piqued his interest in developing a documentary practise.
NaitÅ’s time spent recording the ethnological practises of TÅhoku region in the north of Japan became the focus of his seminal series, Baba Bakuhatsu (‘Grandma Explosion’, 1970). In 1974 NaitÅ was invited to participate in John Szarkowski’s ground-breaking exhibition, New Japanese Photography, at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and was subsequently included in the Barbican’s important survey exhibition, Beyond Japan (1991).
Quote:Finnish photographer Lassi Rautiainen was able to capture the unlikely “friendship” of a female grey wolf and male brown bear, documenting the unusual pair over the course of ten days in 2013. The duo went everywhere together, hunting as a team and sharing their spoils.
![[Image: JuxtapozMasatoshiNaito01.jpeg]](https://www.juxtapoz.com/media/k2/galleries/69998/JuxtapozMasatoshiNaito01.jpeg)
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