Roppeita Kita, with Grandson Nagayo Kita November 1, 1969

Rooted in the classical traditions of portrait painting, Karsh’s works present subjects as timeless figures, effectively immortalizing them. This sense of permanence underscored Karsh’s belief in portraiture as a visual tribute that endures far beyond the subject’s moment in history, a significant aspect of his work over the span of his six-decade career.

By the 1960s, Karsh’s status as photographer emeritus earned him an appointment as special photographic advisor to Expo 70, held in Osaka, Japan. In 1969, Karsh travelled in advance to Japan to photograph leading Japanese business leaders, artists, performers, and Nobel laureates, considered Living National Treasures (Ningen Kohukō).

Among his portrait subjects was the eminent master of Noh theatre, Roppeita Kita. As Karsh later recounted, “Roppeita Kita is more than a legend in Japan, he is a living shrine—so revered that all who entered the theatre when he is on stage fell to their knees in respect. At 90-plus, he is one of the greatest actors of the Noh drama, a form of theatre which has been so meticulously refined over seven centuries, so filled with subtle symbolism, that even few contemporary Japanese can fully appreciate all the nuances of the performance.” In this work, soft light falls on the wrinkled face and hands of the venerable actor, alluding to the passage of time. The presence of Kita’s grandson, Nagayo, who was also a Noh performer, introduces a sense of familial tenderness, reverence for one’s elders, and the continuance of the mentorship tradition.

For Karsh, living legend status was not restricted to celebrated figures who achieved a long life—it extended to those of talent at any age. His 1969 Japan portfolio also featured internationally acclaimed younger figures, notably the filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, lauded for his experimental techniques in films such as Rashomon (1950) and The Seven Samurai (1954). Karsh also photographed physicist Hideki Yukawa, Japan’s first Nobel laureate and an outspoken advocate for nuclear disarmament. Both Kurosawa and Yukawa were close to Karsh’s own age at the time, in their early sixties, and in the prime of their careers. Rather than representing Japan’s enduring traditions, they exemplified the country’s emerging influence in the modern era.

During his trip, Karsh became profoundly interested in the Japanese government’s heritage designation system—in particular, its distinction of Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties, which resonated with his lifelong work seeking to chronicle the best of humanity and produce a visual language to express goodness, talent, and achievement. The concept of immortalizing a nation’s living legends as a collective portrait representing both tradition and innovation informed Karsh’s later projects chronicling the dramatis personae of his own time in his published portfolios Karsh Canadians (1978) and Karsh: American Legends (1992).