Photo Sumiko Kiyooka Petit Tomato

Beginning her career as a freelance photojournalist in 1962, Kiyooka documented pivotal moments such as the Vietnam War student protests 1964 Tokyo Olympics

Kiyooka’s work is often compared to that of her husband, the renowned poet and photographer Kiyooka Shoon, yet her voice remains distinctly her own. While Shoon often focused on the vastness of landscapes, Sumiko looked inward. Her obsession with the minute details of the tomato—its skin, its stem, the way it reflects a window—suggests a deep, rhythmic connection to the passage of time. To look at her photographs is to experience a moment of stillness in a chaotic world. Photo Sumiko Kiyooka Petit Tomato

In Kiyooka’s most famous series (circa 1980s-1990s), the petit tomato becomes a metaphor for summer. It is often depicted: Beginning her career as a freelance photojournalist in

The "Petit Tomato" series, which began in the 1990s, features Kiyooka's photographs of small, often imperfect tomatoes. These images are remarkable for their attention to detail, texture, and color. The tomatoes are presented in a variety of settings, from rustic wooden tables to elegant ceramic dishes. Through her photographs, Kiyooka invites the viewer to contemplate the beauty of the everyday, the imperfect, and the overlooked. To look at her photographs is to experience