Taizo Ichinose Biography
1947
November 1. Born in Saga Prefecture, as a first son to Ichinose family that had two daughters.
1966
Graduated from Tekeo High School in his hometown, during which time he joined a school baseball team, which participated in the prestigious National High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium for the first and last time. Subsequently, he found his interest in photography when he played a role of leader in the Physics Club.
1970
Graduated with a degree in Photography from Nihon University, College of Art. During his college days, he devoted himself to shooting sports, especially Boxing. He also trained formally as an amateur boxer.
After graduating from college, he joined UPI (United Press International) Tokyo bureau for three months.
1972
Departed for Bangladesh to cover the confusion and reestablishment after the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.
March 11. Moved to Siem Reap, Cambodia, started to aim to photograph the ancient temple of Angkor, being dominated by Khmers Rouges.
August 15. Expelled from Cambodia as an “unpreferable photographer”, then moved to Vietnam. Within the month he won first prize of UPI News pictures Monthly Contest.
Worked as a freelance photographer, his photographs appeared on the pages of world eminent papers, such as Washington Post, The New York Times, Newsweek, and other Japanese major magazines.
1973
April 27. Returned briefly to Japan for 9 days, then flew back to Vietnam.
June 12. – July 10. Having the re-entry permission with VISA as a Boxing teacher, returned to Cambodia and spent a month there, then returned to Vietnam.
August 7. Boarded and covered a Korean military ammunition transport ship and crossed the Mekong river from Saigon to Phnom Penh.
He then set out to cover the battlefields of Cambodia. He also sought close-ups of government soldiers on the verge of defeat in the battles around Phnom Penh and the Kompong Cham, considered the country’s most intense battlefield.
November 7. Covered “A Wedding beneath the sound of gunfire”, his Cambodian friend’s wedding, which would be his last coverage.
November 22. or 23. After sending a letter to one of friends with the words ”If step on a mine, it’s all over ” sneaking into Angkor Wat by himself and was never seen again.
1982
His body was found by his parents in the glass field in a small village called PreahDak.
