Motoichi Kumagai (熊谷 元一, Kumagai Motoichi; 12 July 1909 – 6 November 2010) was a Japanese photographer and illustrator of books for children, known for his portrayal of rural and school life. He has illustrated numerous children's books, books containing his photography, and other works. His works have won prizes, beginning with a photography prize from the Mainichi Shimbun in 1955.
He is sometimes credited as Motokazu Kumagai or Motoiti Kumagai.
Kumagai was born on 12 July 1909 in the village of Ōchi (会地村, Ōchi-mura) (now part of Achi), Shimoina District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. His given name 元一 is generally romanized as "Motoichi", but is also sometimes written as "Motoiti" or "Motokazu".
From 1930 to 1933, Kumagai worked as a teacher. He had his first work for children published in the May 1932 issue of the magazine Kodomo no Kuni. In 1936, he bought a Pearlette camera (a Konishiroku derivative of the Vest Pocket Kodak), with a simple meniscus lens, and started to use this to photograph village life. His first photograph collection was published two years later by Asahi Shinbunsha.
He went to Tokyo in 1939 as a government photographer and was later sent three times to Manchukuo. After the war, he returned to teach in his village. A book of photographs featuring school life published by Iwanami Shoten in 1955 won a photography prize from Mainichi Shimbun.
Kumagai published books of works for children as well as books of photographs. His photographs are held in the permanent collection of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, and a volume of the series Nihon no Shashinka is dedicated to his work. He has received various honours for his work since 1990. The village of Achi created a gallery called Kumagai Motoichi Shashin Dōgakan to permanently exhibit his work.
He died of natural causes on 6 November 2010 in a nursing home in Tokyo.
Gakkō Ehon: Shūshin no Maki (学校ヱホン 修身ノ巻) (Suzuki Jin Seidō, 1936)
Itachi to Kodomo (いたちと子供) (Kin no Seisha, 1941)
Ujigami-sama (氏神さま) Kodansha, 1942)
Yama no Mura (ヤマノムラ) (Kyōyōsha, 1942)
Ano Mura Kono Mura (あの村この村) (Hakubunkan, 1943)
Yamaguni no Fudoki (山国の風土記) (Sanseidō, 1943)
Yoi Ko no Mura (ヨイコノムラ) (Nōsangyoson Bunka Kyōkai, 1943)
Furusato no Ehon: Fuyu no Maki (ふるさとの絵本 冬の巻) (Miyajima Shoten, 1946)
Furusato no Ehon: Natsu no Maki (ふるさとの絵本 夏の巻) (Miyajima Shoten, 1947)
Furusato Monogatari (ふるさと物語) (Kodansha, 1949)
Shizen no Naka de (自然の中で) (Popura-sha, 1969)