Seeking Direction: Daidō Moriyama’s Focus on the Margins to Reveal Memory of Early Personal and Post Wartime Traumas in Stray Dog

Abstract

This research delves into the technique and metaphorical languages of Daidō Moriyama's photobook Stray Dog, particularly four selected photos, exploring the visual narrative that focuses on the margin as a medium for conveying both the memory of the photographer’s early personal trauma and the collective aftermath of World War II. Daidō Moriyama is a celebrated Japanese photographer known for his distinctive black-and-white street photography, mainly famous for capturing the essence of postwar environments with a raw and intense aesthetic. The photobook Stray Dog includes the photos he took mainly from the late 1960s to the late 1970s in the postwar era. I argue that Moriyama's selection of marginalized subjects, mirrors the disorientation of his identity, the nation’s identities, and broader human identity, reciprocal with his personal traumas connecting with the country’s experience during the postwar time. Further, through his stylistic narration shaped by wartime chaos during his earlier childhood, and the design of the margin such as blankness and diagonals, the marginalized subjects become more stand out, which highlights the collective anomie of postwar Japan. By doing so, I seek to illuminate that Moriyama's art creation is closely related to his own experience and the larger socio-cultural context of postwar Japan. My paper ties together the works of Carter Ratcliff, Philip Charrier, Sarah Kelleher, and Leo Rubinfien, and starts with the theories of metaphor, symbols, and memory in Aleida Assmann’s Cultural Memory and Western Civilization. This essay can be seen as a nuanced analysis focusing on Moriyama’s work of Stray Dog, which examines the reasons for the specific photo’ subjects chosen, and an exploration of how his art creations show both his personal traumas and the nation’s memory during the postwar period.

Keywords: Daidō Moriyama, Postwar, Japan, Photography, Margin

In the intricate interplay between cultural memory and visual representation, Assmann (2011) highlights the profound capacity of images to transcend verbal limitations and evoke the depths of preconscious and traumatic experiences. This potency is particularly resonant in the medium of photography, where the captured image can simultaneously reflect and refract the multifaceted nature of memory itself. This essay endeavors to closely analyze four selected photos from Daido Moriyama's photo book Stray Dog. It will focus on Moriyama's artistic depiction of marginalized subjects and his unique visual narrative as a reflection of both his memory of personal experience and the larger societal context of identity reconstruction in post-war Japan. 

First, Daido Moriyama's photography particularly focuses on societal outcasts, reflecting a convergence of his personal identity with the wider collective identity. His work captures the disorientation of a nation's societal and cultural identities, even expanding to the broader human identity, reciprocal with his personal traumas and the country’s experience during the postwar time.

He captures subjects—disabilities, children alone on the street, and stray dogs—against the gritty backdrops of urban decay and desolate shorelines. These figures emerge not just as individuals but as archetypes, as Assmann suggests, transforming into symbols that evoke a spectrum of memories. (Assmann, 213) In Moriyama's compelling imagery, the subjects chosen are shown as a resonant chronicle that bridges personal recollections with the wider, often unspoken, narratives of a society and nation striving to reconcile with its past. All these have even stretched to the philosophical thoughts of human destiny. 

Moriyama's choice of marginalized groups as subjects is shown as the archetypes of his own early experiences and the nation’s collective identity lost, drawing parallels between his personal and national history, and the subjects provide viewers with insight into his motivation. In his autobiographical work Inu no Kioku (Memories of a Dog), he intriguingly starts by mentioning that he was a twin, born second and that his twin brother passed away in infancy, which makes Moriyama feel like a duplicate without an original. Towards the end of the book, he expresses sorrow over not knowing much about his twin's brief life and untimely death, lamenting that he never broached this topic with his parents. He explains that the first character of his name, “hiro” (大), combines his brother's name “kazu” (一) with the character “hito” (人). The concept of two embryos merging into one is visually represented in one of his most unusual photographic works, the Pantomime series included in the Stray Dog (see Figure 1). This subject of tangled fetuses highlights the fragility inherent in life and also metaphorically echoes Moriyama's own memory of youth, the feelings of loss, and the quest for his own identity. They are symbols of being marginalized, as fetuses are rarely seen and their vulnerability seems to represent what outcasts would experience. 

The tangled fetuses are also parallel with the fact that the country’s tradition and past are tangled with the future and Western technologies and norms, showing the nation’s identity problem. Following World War II, Japan experienced a deluge of Western consumer products and entertainment forms such as pop music, TV shows, and Hollywood films. This wasn't the first instance of Western influence in Japan. The country's first encounter with the West dates back to the 1540s with the arrival of Portuguese ships. This initiated a period of trade with Europe, which ceased abruptly by the end of the 16th century. Japan then entered a prolonged phase of near-total isolation under the Shogunate, only to reopen to American and European traders after 1854, following Commodore Perry's expedition. (Carter, 48) This reopening marked the beginning of a continuous stream of innovations and interactions with the West, perpetuating concerns over the potential loss of Japan's national identity. The rapid pace of change has only heightened these concerns, fueling a constant quest to define and preserve what it means to be Japanese in an era of global influence and transformation. Thus, these tangled fetuses, in their silent and static state, represent modern and traditional identities, shown as the puzzled direction of the nation’s identity. 

“The dog appears begrimed, toothy, at once feral and cringing, in Daido Moriyama's extraordinary photography Stray Dog, Misawa, Aomori, and if this image has won Moriyama many admires, its subject seems to have affected the artist himself no less.” (Rubinfien, 132) This half-blooded stray dog stands in stark contrast to the pampered breeds often seen in Japan, (see Figure 2) such as the elegant Samoyeds and Huskies, or the meticulously groomed Pomeranians and Pekingese of genteel ladies. This dog has been a representation of the marginalized as always, as Rubinfien notes that “if a person is asked about mutts and strays, the walker of Japan's cities will recall rats— faced scavengers in the back alleys of the night-towns, their greasy, colorless hair repulsive, their expression always frightened— and frightening.” (Rubinfien, 133) Moriyama’s subjects, often overlooked or unseen by mainstream culture, reflect a parallel to his own sense of identity loss and displacement. The dog’s gritty, forlorn, and seemingly aimless demeanor mirrors Moriyama's own feelings of being a ‘duplicate without an original,’ a sentiment rooted in the loss of his twin in infancy and his ensuing struggle with identity. This early loss had a lasting impact on Moriyama, instilling a sense of incompleteness and disorientation in his identity formation.

This personal narrative of Moriyama is interwoven with the broader context of post-war Japan, a nation much like the stray dog, navigating a landscape marked by devastation and rapid transformation with a certain identity. Following its defeat in World War II, Japan underwent significant reconstruction under the Allied occupation, leading to democratic reforms and economic revival. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed what is often termed the ‘Economic Miracle,’ a period of extraordinary industrial growth and technological advancement. However, this swift development came with its own set of challenges, as traditional values clashed with modern influences, and cities rebuilt from wartime destruction grappled with new identities. The nation, in its transformation, experienced a collective sense of disorientation and loss, akin to the vulnerability and aimlessness captured in the stray dog's demeanor. The rapid urbanization and Westernization led to an identity crisis, as the Japanese society struggled to maintain its heritage while embracing global modernization. 

Besides, Moriyama's focus on marginalized individuals elevates their voices and stories, shedding light on the memory of societal identities of exclusiveness and injustices that may otherwise go unnoticed. His work serves as a platform for the marginalized to be seen and heard. During that time, “the West maintains a pantheon of alienated heroes, and in its romantic modernist tradition, the bohemian, rebel, tramp or hollow-hearted estranger have been thought bearers of authenticity and moral legitimacy.”(Rubinfien, 134) In contrast, in Japan, an outsider is nothing more than an outsider. While the dispossessed lord Yoshitsune was a hero-outcast in pre-modern folklore, 20th-century Japanese culture regarded the true renegade—with no home, no pedigree, no traditional guild, and no family to protect him—as suspicious. The portrayal of the half-blooded stray also extends to the societal aspects. (see Figure 2) The stray dog, in its mixed heritage and neglected state, becomes a powerful metaphor, which speaks to the marginalization of those who exist between worlds, neither fully belonging to one nor the other. Also, considering the rapid industrial growth and modernization, traditional lifestyles, often rural and based on agrarian economies, were overshadowed by the booming industrial sectors and urban development. People adhering to traditional ways of life found it increasingly difficult to fit into the new, fast-paced, and technologically advanced society. Eventually, something once being honored, came to be seen as deserted and like the status of the marginalized half-blooded “stray dog.” By bringing attention to such a dog, he not only elevates the status of the ignored group but also implicitly critiques the societal tendencies to overlook or undervalue them. 

Moreover, the boy's posture and gaze, as captured by Moriyama, might not only reflect his personal disposition but also symbolize Moriyama’s intention to discourse on broader social issues. (see figure 2) His defensive stance and contorted gaze, as noted by Philip, could be indicative of the hardships faced by children in urban environments, particularly those from marginalized communities. The sense of wariness could represent a response to a society that often overlooks or undervalues the struggles of its most vulnerable members. On the other hand, Carter's interpretation of the boy’s blank gaze possibly indicating a disability introduces another layer of social commentary. This perspective highlights the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, particularly in societies where they might be stigmatized or receive inadequate support. It underscores the notion of invisibility that often surrounds marginalized groups, especially children with disabilities, in public consciousness. The setting of the photograph, with the child standing alone against a backdrop of fast-moving vehicles, further emphasizes his isolation and the sense of being overlooked by society. The child’s presence in such an environment, coupled with his apparent discomfort and vulnerability, draws attention to the neglect of certain segments of society in the face of rapid urbanization and societal change. 

Also, from the perspective of the aftermath of the Second World War, the setting of the photograph near an American military base is highly symbolic, which helps emphasize the memory of marginalized puzzled cultural identity. The location of Daido Moriyama's two photos(see Figure 2 and Figure 4) is both near an American military base in Yokosuka or the nearby town called Misawa. Japan in the late 1960s and 1970s, when Moriyama began photographing, was marked by a dichotomy of past and future, tradition and transformation. The cultural identity of Japan at this time was complex. On one hand, there was traditional Japan with its deep-rooted customs, aesthetics, and values—Samurai ethics, Zen Buddhism, and tea ceremonies. On the other hand, there was the new Japan, influenced by Western culture through occupation and globalization, which introduced individualism, Western fashion, and pop culture. This special location, as Kriebel notes, is indicative of the burgeoning American cultural influence in “a then largely homogenous and traditionally insular” Japanese society. (Kriebel, 28) 

However, Moriyama's photographs subtly captured the elements in between the duality. The ‘Stray Dog’ symbolizes the cultural crossbreeding that occurred during the American occupation and continued thereafter. It represents the integration of foreign elements into the Japanese cultural DNA, leading to a new, hybrid identity. The fact that Moriyama was influenced by the Decadent writers of the '40s, like Osamu Dazai, underscores his fascination with themes of alienation, despair, and the search for cultural identity. Dazai's work often explored the fractured sense of self in a rapidly changing Japan, which resonated with Moriyama's own artistic explorations. (Rubinfien, 134)

In Figure 4, the girl moving through the ruins toward darkness in Yokosuka—a place significantly altered by American naval presence—can be seen as an allegory for the youth of Japan during this era. She represents the new generation stepping out from the ruins of old Japan, moving towards an uncertain future shaped by both the legacy of the past and the pervasive influence of Western culture. The ruins are a metaphor for the collapse of pre-war cultural norms, and the girl's journey symbolizes the search for a new identity in a landscape where the traditional and the Western cultures are in constant flux.

Moriyama’s photography captures the essence of a post-war Japan where cultural identity was not a fixed construct but an evolving and contested space. His subjects, often gritty and marginal, provide a counter-narrative to the sanitized, forward-looking image of post-war prosperity and progress. They remind viewers that beneath the surface of the economic boom and Western influence lay a deeper, more introspective struggle with the cultural ramifications of defeat, occupation, and the pressures of modernity. This struggle was not merely about external changes but an internal re-examination and reconfiguration of what it meant to be Japanese in a world that was no longer isolated but interconnected and interdependent.

Moriyama’s focus on marginalized subjects is also a profound exploration of life's transience and the perpetual cycle of birth and death, which is closely attached to the general human being’s identity. Moriyama’s fascination with human fetuses, originating from his childhood curiosity about the evolution of life, culminates in this series, which becomes a significant reflection of his artistic and existential inquiries. Echoing Freud’s concept of “Thanatology,” these images symbolize the inescapable progression from life to death, representing a cycle of unity and contradiction. The fetuses, as depicted in Figure 1, are emblematic of primal societal memories, capturing both the inception of life and its inevitable cessation. It is particularly poignant in the context of post-war Japan's struggle with modernization upheaval. They mirror the collective liminality experienced by a society in transition, suspended between the remnants of the past and the uncertainties of a new era. In Moriyama's work, the preserved and static state of the fetuses becomes a metaphor for a society attempting to hold onto its historical roots while navigating the uncharted waters of the future. This blend of personal expression and meditation on mortality resonates deeply with Moriyama's own feelings of displacement and the broader quest for identity amidst rapid changes, making the Pantomime series a powerful commentary on both individual and collective human experiences.

In Figure 4, Moriyama presents an evocative image of a young girl in motion, her figure blurred as she moves through a narrow, debris-strewn alley. The composition of this photograph and its subject matter resonates deeply with the theme of marginalization and the transience of life. The alley, cluttered with remnants and refuse, symbolizes the neglected corners of society— places and, by extension, people who are often overlooked and discarded. The girl, with her back to the viewer and heading towards an indiscernible end, embodies a journey that is both personal and universal. Her solitude and the darkness that seems to await her reflect the existential journey of life where the direction is not always clear and the destination unknown. The contrast of the girl's youthful presence against the backdrop of decay vividly illustrates the enduring cycle of survival amidst destruction, symbolizing the perpetual cycle of birth and death that underpins our existence. The ruins around her may represent the death of the old—traditions, structures, and ways of life that have fallen away. Her movement signifies life and the potential for rebirth, suggesting that out of decay comes the possibility of new growth.

Secondly, Moriyama’s aesthetic and stylistic narratives of the margin, influenced by the wartime chaos during his childhood and the aftermath of the war, make his marginalized subjects' choices stand out, which highlights the collective anomie of postwar Japan. 

His childhood, shadowed by the tumult of World War II and spent amidst the stark contrasts of destruction and reconstruction in Osaka in 1938, has profoundly shaped his artistic lens. The disarray and ruin that marked his formative years are not just imprints in his memory but also form the core of his work's aesthetic, reflecting a nation struggling with its fragmented identity (Phillips, 146). This background, combined with his preference for black and white photography — a choice he believes better represents his perception of the world in the aftermath — adds a layer of emotional depth and historical resonance to his images. 

Moriyama uses diagonals, which is not merely a stylistic choice but a deliberate commentary on the state of Japan's post-war reality. The angles create visual tension, echoing the societal instability and the collective quest for direction in a landscape transformed by political, economic, and cultural shifts. In Figure 4, the pronounced diagonals slice through the composition, drawing the viewer's eye along the alleyway's sharp descent. This visual technique amplifies the inherent tension within the frame, as the young girl's figure is caught in a moment of uncertain movement — her path along the diagonal suggesting a journey that is both literal and metaphorical. The cluttered, oppressive environment around her is fragmented by these same diagonal lines, creating a sense of chaos and disorder that mirrors the post-war upheaval in Japan. The setting is both constricted and expansive; the alley’s walls close in, yet the path leads off into the unknown. It's a visual metaphor for a society emerging from the destruction and confusion of war, seeking a way forward. The girl’s placement in the scene, moving away from the viewer and into the darkened depths of the alley, can be seen as a symbol of Japan’s youth navigating the new realities of a post-war world — a generation facing the daunting task of forging a future amidst the remnants of the past.

In Figure 2, the shadow creates a division across the body of the dog, segmenting its form and bisecting the scene. This visual tension is reflective of the societal divide in post-war Japan—a nation grappling with its own internal contrasts and contradictions. The sharp angle of the shadow can be seen as a demarcation between the past and the future, the traditional and the modern, the East and the West. The use of such a stark diagonal implies movement and dynamism but also instability. It disrupts the balance within the frame, much like the political, economic, and cultural upheavals were disrupting the balance within Japan. The country was in the midst of redefining its identity, and the diagonal tension in Moriyama's photograph can be interpreted as a manifestation of this search for a new direction. The shadow also adds a dramatic element to the image, highlighting the dog's rugged features and enhancing the sense of grit and survival. It’s as if the dog is emerging from the shadow or being consumed by it, a powerful symbol for the Japanese psyche during the period, which oscillated between the hope of resurgence and the fear of losing its cultural essence.

Moriyama's evocative photography captures the tension between the modern and the mystical, utilizing an unorthodox perspective that blurs the line between the disquieting and the everyday. The unconventional perspective in the photograph creates a sense of disorientation, more akin to a spontaneous loss of balance. The boy in the image is surrounded by an eerie glow that lends him a somewhat sinister aspect, as though he were caught in a beam of otherworldly light. (see Figure 3) The low-contrast tones of the photo lighten oddly around the boy’s outline, producing a faint halo. Philips claims that rather than beautifying the child, the effect is oddly sinister. It is as if by withdrawing his gaze, he is also somehow “sucking the light out of the image”, back toward his body. (Philip, 270) This interplay between connection and avoidance in the subject's interaction with the camera lends the photograph a potent emotional resonance. Also, the dog in Figure 2 is captured at eye level, this compositional choice imbues the image with a provocative tension. Such direct engagement challenges the viewer, inviting an introspection that oscillates between empathy and unease. The dog’s stance, combined with its direct but unfocused gaze, adds to this oscillation, as it evokes a sense of being both present and distant, engaged and detached, compelling and repelling. These photos both provocatively engage the viewer, with the subjects seemingly oscillating between being foreboding or devilish and appearing downtrodden, abject, or even bizarre. Both Moriyams’s book editors have commented the same. Mark Holborn has suggested that Moriyama employs a "mythic vocabulary" in his work. Similarly, Monroe’s observation of the work's unsettling quality underscores how Moriyama’s subjects, marginalized and enigmatic, disrupt the veneer of the every day, channeling the mythic and the shadowy to comment on the profound disjunctions within Japanese society. 

In the contrast-rich images captured by Moriyama, a deliberate embrace of blankness acts as a profound narrative device. This blankness, an expanse of unoccupied space, is not empty but charged with potential, symbolizing the gaps in Japan's collective memory post-World War II. Moriyama’s aesthetic, which Carter describes as a “grain of a stylized facade” that leads to “a confrontation with blankness” (Carter, 47), challenges viewers to confront the voids within the nation's psyche. In this evocative frame (see Figure 2), the dog emerges as a stark silhouette, a visual anchor amidst the engulfing overexposure. This blankness that dominates the photograph transcends mere absence, becoming a powerful presence filled with the weight of untold stories and unresolved histories. The dog's silhouette, edged by the white expanse, seems to exist in a limbo devoid of context, inviting interpretations and questions about its place and the broader societal narratives it may represent. As the dog's gaze is cast into the overwhelming blankness, it mirrors the existential search for meaning that characterized Japan's national psyche following the disorientation of wartime defeat. The dog, thus, becomes a silent yet poignant symbol of a nation's quest to rediscover its path, to fill the voids left by the war with a renewed sense of identity and purpose. 

Similarly, the photograph of the entwined figures accentuates the narrative of blankness through its manipulation of light and shadow (see Figure 1). The figures are enveloped in darkness, but it is the surrounding blankness, the overexposed areas of the image, that draws the viewer's attention. This stark contrast creates a visual metaphor for the fragmented memories and disrupted identities that plagued post-war Japanese society. Consider that the nation was rapidly modernizing, all while trying to reconcile the trauma and loss of the recent past. This dynamic period led to a society that often felt disjointed—a collective experience where memories of the past were not fully integrated into the new narrative of progress and Western influence. The intertwining of the figures suggests a search for connection in a landscape of uncertainty, where the blankness embodies the lost connections and forgotten histories that are a consequence of the nation's rapid modernization and the enforced amnesia of traumatic wartime experiences.

In conclusion, Daido Moriyama's selection of marginalized subjects serves not only as a reflection of his personal narrative of trauma, but also mirrors the broader disorientation of the national, societal, and cultural identity during the post-war time. Moriyama's compelling use of visual narrative intensifies the tension between memory and disorientation, capturing the profound complexities of identity and existence within an evolving Japanese landscape that grapples with rapid modernization and Western influence. His photobook, Stray Dog, stands as a profound exploration of the complexities of memory, identity, and existence within the evolving Japanese landscape.

Appendix 

Fig 1. Daidō Moriyama, Pantomime series, 1964, Gelatin silver print, 21.5 × 29.7cm

Fig 2. Daidō Moriyama, Stray Dog, 1971, Gelatin silver print, 48.0 × 71.2cm, 

Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/52359.

Fig 3. Daidō Moriyama, 1974, Gelatin silver print, 21.5 × 29.7cm, 

Collection Kenji Shimoda.

Fig 4. Daidō Moriyama, Untitled, Yokosuka, 1970, Gelatin silver print, 26.7 × 15.9cm, 

Collection Kenji Shimoda.

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https://www.jstor.org/stable/24557928