was a renowned Japanese photographer. He was born on May 10, 1912, in the Kita ward in Tokyo, Japan. His father, Otsuka Masayoshi, was a pioneer of photographic retouching. After graduating secondary school in 1929, his father encouraged him to study photography at Tokyo Industrial Arts High School (currently part of Chiba University). He graduated in 1933. Otsuka was a photographer who worked in various photographic styles. He was not tethered to specific photographic techniques or motifs. He was a leader in the Tokyo-based photojournalism that focused on social issues. But he was also a well established portrait photographer. He worked for the Asahi Newspaper. Father's Influence Otsuka Gen was born in Tokyo, but his father, Masayoshi, was originally from the town of Toyotsu in Fukuoka prefecture. The family in Toyotsu owned a coal mine, so Masayoshi grew up privileged and entered Ueno Art College in Tokyo to pursue his artistic ambitions. But during University, the family's coal mine was destroyed due to a natural disaster that financially ruined the family, forcing Masayoshi to begin working as an art teacher soon after graduating. Forced to give up his ambitions as a painter, Masayoshi picked up photography and taught himself photo development and retouching techniques, which he later taught at the Tokyo Photography Academy. Gen grew up in a home full of photographic equipment with a darkroom. As Masayoshi would work on retouching photographs using cutting-edge techniques, he forced Gen to help. He would have to hand pump the pressure for the air-brushing that his father would do, and he hated it. Gen was interested in dance when he was younger and often went to Takarazuka performances. Still, his father would not allow him to pursue it and forced him to enroll as a photography student at the Tokyo Industrial Art High School in 1929. During his student days as one of the six photography students in his class, he began working for many different clients as the demand for photographic skills increased. The Mainichi Newspaper commissioned Gen to take face shots for Mainichi Newspaper. Through his father's various connections in the burgeoning photography societies, Gen found employment at the Asahi newspaper when he graduated in 1933. Influence of Koga Meetings As a student, he had the opportunity to join meetings held by members who founded the photography magazine, Koga, like Ihee Kimura, Iwata Nakayama, and Yasuzo Nojima. Although he was