Makiko Ui Photo Exhibition 'ankoraci Ankorachi Just as it is, Just as it is'

Canon Marketing Japan, Inc. (President and CEO: Masao Adachi) will hold the Makiko Ui photo exhibition 'ankoraci Ankorachi Just as it is, Just as it is' at the Canon Gallery S on the 1st floor of Canon S Tower (Location: Minato-ku, Tokyo) from August 17, 2026.

● Overview

○ Duration: August 17, 2026 (Mon) ~ September 29, 2026 (Tue)

○ Opening Hours: 10:00 AM ~ 5:30 PM

○ Closed: Sundays and Holidays

○ Venue: Canon Gallery S, 1st floor of Canon S Tower (Address: 2-16-6 Minato, Minato-ku, Tokyo)

○ Access: Approximately 8-minute walk from JR Shinagawa Station Minato Exit, approximately 10-minute walk from Keikyu Shinagawa Station

● Exhibition Contents

As indicated by the episode where she wrote a story featuring an Ainu girl in her elementary school class, Makiko Ui has had a deep interest in the Ainu people since childhood. Over ten years later, a meeting with an Ainu woman awakened her thoughts about the Ainu people.

Since her first visit to a village in Nibutani, Hokkaido in 1992, she has been deeply involved with various stories, learning and releasing stereotypical images of the Ainu people within herself, and continuing to express fundamental questions about nature and humans through photography. Ui's photographs vividly capture the photographer's gentle yet strong gaze and the exquisite distance with the subjects, as expressed by the Ainu word 'Ankorachi' (just as it is, just as it is).

This exhibition traces Ui's journey with the Ainu people through approximately 100 selected works from over 30 years of extensive records. Visitors can feel the grand narrative of Ui's journey to the Ainu people, guided through the camera, who was captivated by the Ainu people for reasons she could not understand.

● Artist Message

Just as it is, just as it is. I want to remember this moment. I have been quietly pressing the shutter beside it. 'Now' quickly becomes 'past'. 'Now' is the gap between past and future. But, what really happened there. I would be very happy if 1/125 seconds could be a trigger to remember the past and imagine the future.

● Photographer Profile

Makiko Ui (Ui Makiko)

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1960.

Graduated from Musashino Art University in 1983 and from the Japan Professional Photography School in 1985.

Studied under photographer Kenji Higuchi during her student days.

Since 1992, she has been engaged in reporting on the Ainu people with her children.

She has held numerous solo exhibitions both domestically and internationally. Her main photo books include 'Ainu, 100 People Now' (Tosei-sha), 'Ene ku=an i Ainu 100 People Now II' (Kosei-sha), 'Ainu, Portrait of the Wind' (Shinsensha), 'Ainu and Sometimes Japanese' (Shakai Hyoron-sha), 'Passing on and Protecting the Story of Three Generations of Ainu' (Shonen Shashin Shinbun-sha), 'Sleeping Tracks' (Waiz-sha), 'Living in the Forest of Life' (Tama Zenshoen Residents' Association, Higashimurayama City), and 'Thread of Breath' (UI Publishing).

She has won the 4th Sagamihara New Photographer Encouragement Award, the 28th Tokiwa Award Special Photographer Award, and the 1st Sasamoto Tsuneko Photography Award.

Member of the Japan Professional Photographers Association. Part-time lecturer at Musashino Art University.

http://www.makikoui.com/

● Talk Event and Gallery Talk Information

Talk Event

① Date: August 29, 2026 (Sat) 14:00 ~ 15:30

Venue: CANON INNOVATION LAB "WITH" (Shinagawa)

Guest: Taku Osaka, Curator of the Ainu Culture Research Center, Hokkaido Museum

Capacity: 70 people (first-come, first-served, free participation)

* For details and registration, please visit canon.jp/gallery.

② Date: September 12, 2026 (Sat) 14:00 ~ 15:30

Venue: Canon Hall S (Shinagawa)

Guest: Artist Yoshitomo Nara

Capacity: 300 people (first-come, first-served, free participation)

* For details and registration, please visit canon.jp/gallery.

Gallery Talk

Date: September 5, 2026 (Sat) 14:00 ~ 15:00

Venue: Canon Gallery S (Shinagawa)

* No registration required.

* Seats are not guaranteed. In case of high demand, entry may be restricted. Please understand in advance.

・General Inquiries: Canon Gallery S 0570-07-9264

・Canon Gallery Homepage: canon.jp/gallery