Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1948. Sugimoto is also described as a conceptual artist of photography. Since his “Dioramas” series which he photographed the taxidermy as if they were alive and were exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, he has created numerous photographic works such as “Seascapes”, “Theaters”, “Architecture”, “In Praise of Shadow”, and “Lightning Fields”. Sugimoto is also involved in many architectural designs, and his works also express his deep knowledge of ancient art, classical literature, and traditional theater performances. He moved to the United States in 1970 and studied photography at the ArtCenter College of Design in Los Angeles. He moved to New York in 1974 where “Dioramas” was highly valued by John Szerkowski, the curator of the department of photography of MoMA at the time and was purchased by the museum. In 2009, he established the Odawara Art Foundation, aiming to promote and preserve the culture of Japanese classical theatre, ancient art as well as contemporary art. In 2017, the Enoura Observatory was opened in Odawara city after 10 years of planning and 10 years of construction. It exhibits a wide range of Sugimoto’s photographic works and architecture, with the aim to be the culmination of his overall activities and art philosophy.