The Yamashina Institute of Ornithology owns the 11,982 photograph collection of Kenji Shimomura (1903–1967), the pioneer of wildlife photography in Japan. One of the prints in the collection (ID no.: AVSK_PM_1198, Fig.1a) depicts the stomach contents of Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon. When the computer database of the Shimomura collection was made, the photographer of this print was plausibly thought to be Shimomura, but was uncertain. Later we discovered in some publication that this photo was taken by Jicho Ishizawa (1899–1967), an insect and bird researcher at the then Wildlife Research Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture. Because the photo showing stomach contents of the endangered wild Crested Ibis is rarely publicized, we are of the opinion that the accurate identification of the photographer is academically important. Based on the memorandum on the backside of the print, handwriting analysis was made by Shimomura's and Ishizawa's relatives. The implications of the rubber stamps on the backside were also considered. These investigations concluded that the photo in question was almost certainly taken by Ishizawa, who also identified the stomach contents. We hope that this example will alert researchers to the possibility of incorrect citation of the photographer in earlier publications already published, and that, when detected, these be corrected in subsequent citations. Comments on related subjects that arose through the process of identifying the photographer are also given.
