Fantasies of the Moon 月の夢想

To create this image, Hirai pasted motifs cut out from printed materials onto a photograph of a wall, then painted the collage by hand. The result gives a sense of fantasy and lyricism that calls to mind the Surrealist paintings of Magritte. The influence of Surrealism, reaching Japan, manifested itself in work that was known as Avant-Garde Photography (Zen’ei Shashin), which emerged on the heels of New Photography (Shinko Shashin). Among members of the Tampei Photography Club, Hirai Terushichi, Hanawa Gingo, and Honjo Koro were strongly oriented to the avant-garde; in 1937, those three formed the Avant-Garde Image Group. Hirai, the heir to a shop dealing in precious metals in Osaka, became a member of the Naniwa Photography Club and Tampei Photography Club in his twenties. He produced richly Surrealist works using techniques such as collage, montage, and hand coloring, and showed them in the Naniwa and Tampei exhibitions. In addition to photography, Hirai also created oil paintings and watercolors.