Born 1930 in Aichi. Has been taking photographs while still enrolled at Aichi University. Moved to Tokyo after graduation, where he embarked on his career as a photographer for Iwanami Shashin Bunko.
He established the agency “VIVO” with the likes of Ikko Narahara and Eikoh Hosoe in 1959, was involved in the “WORKSHOP Photo School” founded together with Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki in 1974, and went on to become a leading figure in post-war Japanese photography. The “Senryo” (Occupation) series focusing on people and landscapes at and around military bases, or ”11:02 NAGASAKI” (1966), a series of photos commemorating the atomic bombing, showcase his sharp observations of the signs of the times, while at once exploring the possibilities of photography.
Following his encounter with Okinawa in 1969, Tomatsu shifted the focus of his interest from military bases to expressions of abundant nature, manners and customs, and published the photo book Taiyo no enpitsu (Pencil of the Sun) (1975). Since 1999 he has been pursuing his lively photographic endeavors while based at once in Nagasaki and Okinawa. Main solo exhibitions include “Traces: 50 Years of Tomatsu's Work” at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (1999), “Tomatsu Shomei no shashin 1972-2002” exhibition at The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto (2003), and “Tomatsu Shomei: Photographs” at Nagoya City Art Museum (2011), as well as numerous exhibitions overseas, such as “Shomei Tomatsu: Skin of the Nation”, which traveled around the USA and Europe until 2007 after its opening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2004.
He died of pneumonia in 2012.