Through thousands of photos over the course of his 50-year career, Mr. Tomatsu, 75, poetically documented his times — traditional Japan before the war, shocked Japanese after the A-bomb attacks, the mixed blessings of Americanization.
   The artist’s disdain for Americans is evident in the “Americanization” section of the exhibit, but his series “Chewing Gum and Chocolate,” which focuses on Americans settling into life in Japan, is one of his best. He shoots a U.S. Navy officer in military whites and medals — a sharp contrast to the grime and dirt where the photographer groveled for food as a teenager in Nagoya. In another photo, a solidly middle-class American couple is shown against traditional Japanese houses.