Isamu Sakamoto

Born in Osaka in 1979. He attended the College of Art of Nihon University, majoring in photography, then studied under photographer Hajime Honda until he went freelance. He is currently living in Tokyo, very active (or so he hopes!) in the fields of editorial and commercial photography. Having grown up with the monkeys in the mountains of Mino, today Sakamoto’s living in the big city:Tokyo. He likes to think of himself as Yuji Oda, the handsome and popular actor. In high school he was fast in long-distance running and had a loud voice. His mother was husky-voiced. We often went to Mister Donut’s together, and to take photographs in the mountains of Mino, too. The electricity, water and gas were often cut off in his house for failing to pay their bills. After graduating from high school, Sakamoto traveled by himself to India. When he worked as an assistant on a photo shoot of Hitomi Yaida, the singer who went to the same high school one year his senior, he was given the nickname “Mino High.” (Biography details as provided by Y, a friend of Sakamoto)

Awards:
2010 Yusuke Sakumura’s Monthly Blog Award
2008 “PhotoGRAPHICA Prize”, Shiogama Photo Festival
2006 Finalist in 27th “Hitotsubo” Photography Competition, Guardian Garden gallery, Tokyo

Exhibitions:
2010 “Grand retrospective of Isamu Sakamoto” Kaigandouri gallery, CASO, Osaka
“Daylight Jazz” Art center On Going, Tokyo