My Alma Mater

ああ母校
米子の山村にひろう記憶

by
植田正治╱Shoji Ueda

Ueda’s 1970s work tightens around home, school, and everyday life. Warabegoyomi (1971) set the structure—children and seasons—then this 1978 magazine spread keeps the focus within his lived radius. 

His base stayed in Tottori–Yonago. In 1972 he opened a three-floor hub—Ueda Camera, the Charanka tearoom, and Gallery U—where local amateurs formed Circle U. Those steady ties make “alma mater” and school life natural subjects rather than a detour. 

From 1975–1994 he taught at Kyushu Sangyo University; in 1978 he was invited to Arles, while continuing to write and publish in Asahi Camera/Camera Mainichi. Education, magazines, and exhibitions formed one working field: the schoolyard theme reads to both locals and a wider public. 

Within Asahi Camera in 1978—veterans alongside new voices—such pages could present regional memory plainly and accessibly. Look for the local subjects and the clear organization that gives ordinary scenes their weight.