The relevance of this study. Postwar Japanese photography significantly shaped new expressive and narrative paradigms in global photography of the second half of the XX century. Amid profound sociocultural shifts following Japan’s capitulation and American occupation, photographers combined documentary, experimentation, and philosophical reflection. This synthesis articulated the complexity of the postwar experience and fostered a new visual language that influenced global photographic discourse — notably visible in the visual and narrative-thematic strategies of Ukrainian photographers, particularly within Kharkiv School of Photography during the 1980s — 1990s. The purpose of the article is to conduct a chronological analysis of the development of the documentary photography genre in Japan from the late 1940s to the 1960s, with a focus on identifying and systematizing the thematic and narrative dominants of each decade, as well as revealing the interconnections between them. Іn particular, to identify narrative and thematic parallels in the works of the representatives of Kharkiv School of Photography of the 1980s — 1990s. The methodology. The study employed a chronological and comparative analysis, along with a review of photographic archival materials, which enabled the identification of thematic and narrative dominants from the late 1940s to the 1960s. Analytical processing of the collected material, combined with methods of synthesis, comparison, and generalization, to trace the key trends in the development of documentary photography and to reveal the internal interconnections between them throughout the specified chronological period. The results. Analysis of Japanese photographic archives (late 1940s — 1960s) reveals the emergence of a consistent documentary model that reflected Japan’s postwar sociocultural shifts. In late 1940s, photography addressed the American occupation, national crisis, and child homelessness. The 1950s saw a critical turn toward themes of recovery and urbanization, while in 1960s, the medium expanded to protest, industrialization, ecology, and changing views on individuality and childhood. In addition, narrative and thematic continuities have been traced between Japanese photographers and representatives of Kharkiv School of Photography of the 1980s — 1990s. The scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian art history, a chronological comparative analysis of the development of the documentary photography genre in Japan from the late 1940s to the 1960s has been conducted. The study systematizes the key thematic and narrative dominants characteristic of each decade within the specified period, and also reveals the internal conceptual-thematic interconnections and continuities between them. In particular, for the first time, the study traces the thematic inheritance and conceptual continuity between Japanese photographers and representatives of Kharkiv School of Photography during the 1980s — 1990s. The practical significance of the study contributes to the development of the theoretical and methodological foundations for further research in the history of photography and visual culture. Its results are applicable in academic publications and university courses in art and cultural studies. Conclusions. The study confirms the central role of the documentary genre in shaping postwar Japanese photography and its influence on Japan’s socio-cultural transformations. Analysis of photographic archives revealed 12 key thematic and narrative dominants from the late 1940s to the 1960s, as well as their conceptual continuity and interconnections within the given historical context. In particular, the thematic inheritance of these dominants can be traced in the work of representatives of Kharkiv School of Photography during the 1980s–1990s.
Pavlo Zaitsev (Fri,) studied this question.