Takashi Homma's Photobook 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji' Captures Elusive Volcano Through Pinhole Camera

Takashi Homma's photobook 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji' presents 56 photographs of Japan's iconic volcano, despite the title referencing the traditional number. Published by Mack for £35 in softcover, the images were shot using a pinhole camera from various distances and vantage points. Homma's grainy photographs employ a twilight palette of pinks, purples, blues, and black-and-white to capture Mount Fuji's elusive nature, often shrouded in clouds or mist. The best viewing conditions for the actual mountain occur between November and February around 8am when clear. The series consciously references Hokusai's famed ukiyo-e prints 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji' (c. 1830–32), which includes the well-known 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa,' and later series by Hiroshige from 1852 and 1858. Homma's sequencing occasionally places two similar views side-by-side, with subtle differences revealing one taken at sunrise and another at dusk. Another pair contrasts a Prussian blue image reminiscent of Hokusai's prints with speckled light from a nearby town against a high-contrast black-and-white version. This approach situates the photographs within a dreamlike realm, evoking the transitional state between wakefulness and sleep. By emphasizing Mount Fuji's transient qualities rather than its fixed commercial representation, Homma joins the artistic lineage that includes Hokusai and Hiroshige while allowing the mountain to emerge gradually from everyday haze.