Akito Tsuda

Akito Tsuda
津田 明人
Photograph of Akito Tsuda standing at Pilsen Days exhibition
Tsuda at 2017 exhibition of Pilsen Days at La Catrina Cafe in Chicago
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Hamamatsu, Japan
Alma materColumbia College Chicago
OccupationPhotographer
Notable workPilsen Days
Websiteakitotsuda.wixsite.com/akitotsuda

Akito Tsuda (津田 明人, Tsuda Akito; born 1966) is a Japanese photographer.[1] Tsuda has published works focused on subjects in Chicago, Osaka, and Tokyo. His work has been exhibited in Japan, Italy, and the United States. He has been recognized for his work documenting the Latino residents of the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago in the early 1990s.[2][3]

Life and work

Tsuda was born in 1966 in Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan.

In 1989, Tsuda left Japan for the United States on a work visa, and lived in Winnetka, Illinois for a short time. He then moved to the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and studied photography at Columbia College Chicago.[4] One of Tsuda's school projects at Columbia was to document his neighborhood, and his work depicted some of the streets between Halsted Street to Western Avenue and 16th Street to Cermak Road.[4] These works were first made available in a self-published book called made me better than before,[5] which had limited circulation and promptly sold out.[4] Tsuda created a second edition of the book called Pilsen Days in 2016 after getting feedback from Pilsen residents.[4][6]

Tsuda’s long-term engagement with the Pilsen community was discussed in a 2024 Forbes article by Esther Choy concerning trust-building and documentary practice.[7]

Exhibitions and collections

Tsuda's work has been exhibited in Milan,[8] Tokyo,[9] and Chicago.[10] In May 2001, Tsuda won the Hitotsuboten, a Tokyo-based annual contest for graphic design and photography for his solo exhibition titled Robō no Neko (路傍の猫; trans. "Street Cat").[11]

Other notable exhibitions of his work have included:

  • Still Motion: Truth, Memory, and Image in East Asia — University of Chicago, 2018.[12]
  • Exhibit: Akito Tsuda: Pilsen Days. Chicago Public Library. 7 May 2024.[13]
  • Akito Tsuda: Pilsen Days — Harold Washington Library Center, Chicago Public Library, June 2024–April 2025.[14]

Collections of his work are held by the Chicago Public Library in Harold Washington Library Center's Special Collections[15] and by the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art (K*MoPA), Japan.[16]

Selected publications

  • Tsuda, Akito. Pilsen Days (2017)[17]
  • Tsuda, Akito. Chicago 1994 (2018)[18]
  • Tsuda, Akito. Pilsen Days: A Neighborhood Story (2022)[19]

References

  1. ↑ "Akito Tsuda Returns to Chicago from Japan for Photography Exhibition of Pilsen in the Nineties". Columbia College Chicago. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  2. ↑ Yassine, Leen (26 June 2024). "Japanese Photographer's Popular '90s Photos Of Pilsen On Display At Harold Washington Library". Block Club Chicago.
  3. ↑ Smith, Thea Michele (14 November 2017). "A Pilsen Night with Akito Tsuda". South Side Weekly.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Serrato, Jacqueline (11 August 2017). "Japanese photographer returns with unseen photos of '90s Mexican Pilsen". Hoy. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "made me better than before". Akito Tsuda. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Brown, Mark (28 October 2017). "Outsider who captured 'poor … but happy' Pilsen welcomed—again". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  7. ↑ Choy, Esther (8 September 2024). "Want To Build Trust? Here Are 3 Stunningly Simple Tips". Forbes. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Akito Tsuda – Breath in breath out | Artribune". Artribune (in Italian). 18 March 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  9. ↑ "Akito Tsuda". Guardian Garden. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Events". Cultura in Pilsen. 10 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "津田明人「路傍の猫」". ガーディアン・ガーデン (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Still Motion: Truth, Memory and Image in East Asia". University of Leeds. School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, University of Leeds. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Exhibit: Akito Tsuda: Pilsen Days". Chicago Public Library. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Soto, Emily (13 June 2024). "New Photo Exhibit Captures Life in Pilsen in the '90s". WTTW News. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "Akito Tsuda Photographs". Chicago Public Library. Retrieved 9 May 2026. Collection no. spe-n00162
  16. ↑ "OPAC". Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (K*MoPA) (in Japanese). Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  17. ↑ Tsuda, Akito (2017). Pilsen Days (Limited-edition photobook). Akito Tsuda.
  18. ↑ Tsuda, Akito (2018). Chicago 1994 (Photobook). Akito Tsuda.
  19. ↑ Tsuda, Akito (2022). Pilsen Days: A Neighborhood Story (Paperback photobook). Chicago, Illinois: Akito Tsuda. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
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