Shimizu was born on 12 October 1913 in Chichibu, the eldest son of the family running a photography studio in Kumaki, Chichibu.[1] His unusual given name, Bukō, is written with the same characters as those used for Mount Bukō; the family had intended it to be pronounced Takekatsu, but when interviewed in his late seventies Shimizu did not remember "Takekatsu" as having been used.[2] In 1929, Shimizu's father suddenly gave up working at the family's photography studio in Chichibu,[3] and the 16-year-old Bukō had to teach himself photographic technique (even the manufacture of photographic paper) from books bought second hand in order to keep the business running[2] From around 1937 he also energetically photographed the topography and people of Chichibu.[1][4]
Shimizu also wrote much about Chichibu; a three-volume collection of his writings was published in 1983.[3] He worked on behalf of the area's libraries and drama, and towards creation of Chichibu National Park.[4]
^ abTeruo Okai (岡井輝雄, potted biography of Shimizu, Nihon rettō shashin jinhyōden: Fūdo to shashin no kōkei (日本列島写真人評伝 風土と写真の光景), Photo Contest bessatsu (Tokyo: Nihon Shashin Kikaku, 1992), p.132. (in Japanese)
^ abShimizu in conversation with Teruo Okai, in Nihon rettō shashin jinhyōden: Fūdo to shashin no kōkei, pp. 132–36.
^ abcMihashi Sumiyo (三橋純予), "Shimizu Bukō", Nihon shashinka jiten (日本写真家事典) / 328 Outstanding Japanese Photographers (Kyoto: Tankōsha, 2000; ISBN4-473-01750-8), p.175. (in Japanese) (Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese.)
^ abcNihon no shashinka (日本の写真家) / Biographic Dictionary of Japanese Photography (Tokyo: Nichigai Associates, 2005; ISBN4-8169-1948-1), p.248. (in Japanese)(Despite the English-language alternative title, all in Japanese.)
