Demand for Daido Moriyama signed first editions reflects the unique way his work circulates between art object and printed matter. From seminal photobooks such as Farewell Photography to later publications like Stray Dog, Moriyama has consistently challenged how photography is presented and collected. Major international awards and museum exhibitions have secured his standing, but his ongoing production of books and magazines keeps the market unusually dynamic. Signed copies, whether formal first editions or more modest publications, offer collectors a direct link to an artist who remains actively engaged with print culture.
Signed Daido Moriyama Photo Book 'Tono' 2014 First Edition, Ltd. 900
🇺🇸 Price: US $277.54
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DAIDO MORIYAMA LIGHT AND SHADOW SIGNED PHOTO BOOK 2019 1st EDITION NEW
🇺🇸 Price: US $297.00
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Signed! Daido Moriyama: Tsugaru 2010 First Edition Limited Edition of 1000
🇺🇸 Price: US $114.99
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About Daido Moriyama
Daido Moriyama is one of the most influential and uncompromising photographers of the postwar period, a figure whose work has reshaped how urban life is seen and recorded. Born in Osaka in 1938, Moriyama emerged in the late 1960s as part of Japan’s radical photography scene, rejecting polished composition in favour of grain, blur and high-contrast immediacy. His images, often taken on the streets of Tokyo, embrace accident and instability, reflecting a restless engagement with the modern city.
He first gained wider recognition through his involvement with the Provoke movement, a short-lived but highly influential collective that challenged conventional documentary photography. Although the movement itself was brief, its impact was lasting, and Moriyama’s work quickly became emblematic of a new visual language that prioritised sensation over clarity. His 1972 book Farewell Photography remains a landmark, pushing photographic abstraction to its limits and redefining what a photobook could be.
Across a career spanning more than six decades, Moriyama has been relentlessly prolific. He has published hundreds of books, zines and exhibition catalogues, often produced in small print runs and distributed informally. This constant output, which continues well into the present day, blurs the line between major monographs and ephemeral publications. Unlike many artists of his stature, Moriyama has remained closely involved in the physical culture of print, frequently contributing to and signing magazines, pamphlets and limited-edition works.
Institutional recognition has followed without softening his approach. Moriyama has received major international honours, including the Hasselblad Award, and his work has been exhibited by leading museums worldwide. Yet his practice has never settled into retrospection. New photographs, reworkings of earlier images and fresh publications continue to appear, reinforcing the sense of an artist in permanent motion.
For collectors, Moriyama’s appeal lies as much in process as in reputation. Signed copies can range from canonical early photobooks to modest, stapled magazines, each carrying the same direct connection to the artist. This fluid hierarchy of objects makes his work particularly compelling within the field of Art & Photograhy books, where rarity is often shaped by circulation rather than official status. His continued willingness to publish and sign ensures that collecting Moriyama remains an active, evolving pursuit rather than a closed historical chapter.
Collector’s Note
These signed works were added to my collection following the exhibition Daido Moriyama with Shomei Tomatsu: TOKYO REVISITED at MAXXI in Rome, which ran from April to October 2022. The show was a powerful re-examination of postwar Tokyo, pairing two photographers whose work shaped the visual language of the city in profoundly different ways. Although Moriyama did not travel to Rome for the exhibition, a small number of signed catalogues briefly appeared in the MAXXI bookshop and sold out quickly.
Determined not to miss the opportunity, I ordered a signed copy of Tokyo Revisited directly from Moriyama’s official gallery, Akio Nagasawa Publishing, in Japan. Opening the parcel was a genuine thrill. The slipcased set comprises three volumes: Moriyama’s photographs, Shomei Tomatsu’s work, and a third book of essays and an interview in English and Italian. It arrived carefully packaged and in immaculate condition, with the signature placed simply on the title page, entirely in keeping with Moriyama’s understated style. Shortly afterwards, I added a signed copy of his magazine Record (No. 56), a reminder of his ongoing commitment to print culture beyond major monographs.
Together, these items capture two sides of Moriyama’s practice: the institutional exhibition catalogue and the more informal, serial publication. Both are signed, both are authentic expressions of how his work circulates, and both reflect an artist who continues to publish, contribute to magazines and engage directly with readers and collectors.
Moriyama’s autograph is characteristically minimal and gestural. Signed simply as “Daido” in a fluid, slanted hand, the signature favours movement over legibility, echoing the energy and immediacy of his photographs. There is no date or dedication, just a confident, unembellished signature applied with a black permanent marker.
Illustration of Daido Moriyama based on a photograph by Sebastian Mayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
