Terushichi Hirai

 was one of the most prominent Japanese photographers in the first half of the 20th century in Japan.
As an amateur photographer, he was very energetic in photography groups, such as Naniwa Photography Club (, "Naniwa Shashin Kurabu") and Tampei Photography Club.
In 1937, he founded Avant-Garde Image Group (Avant-Garde Zoei Shūdan, ) with Gingo Hanawa (1894-1957, ), Yoshio Tarui and Kōrō Honjō.
He was good at extremely imaginative, illusionary and surrealistic photography, perfectly using photomontages and color painting on prints. His works such as "Fantasies of the Moon" (, 1938), "Mode" (1938, , "Mōdo") and "Life" (1938, , "Seimei") are unique and among the most important works for the history of Japanese photography before World War II.