Numazawa Shigemi

Numazawa Shigemi's astrophotography and astronomy illustrations have appeared in Japanese and international magazines; he has written for numerous publications and produced astronomy- and space-related TV programs for public broadcaster NHK. Numazuwa has also organized the Tainai Star festival, the largest star festival in the world, and supervised the construction of the astronomical observatory "Polar Star Kanbayashi" in the town of Kanbayashi (now Murakami City) and the Tainai Nature and Astronomy Museum in Kurokawa (now Tainai City). He regards infrared photography and black-and-white photography as his life's calling. In 2004, Numazuwa received the Minister of the Environment Award (awarded for contributions in business, academia, and government).