Takashi Homma Wants You to Be “Seeing Itself”

The title 17 reflects a year in the life of Yamamoto, captured at the age of 17. Homma and Yamamoto met during fashion shoots for magazines like Purple and Dazed, and have now collaborated on this photo book, promoting it as contemporaries despite their generational gap. “I think most people tend to have different faces when they are working and when they are not,” Yamamoto says. “However, I don’t feel that with him. There is always a sense of reassurance in his presence, and I respect that part of him very much.”

In 17, Yamamoto represents the transition from adolescence to adulthood, her expressions tinged with a mix of anxiety and determination as she gazes directly into the lens. Youth has been a recurring theme for Homma since his 1996 book Tokyo Teens, followed by 1998’s Tokyo Suburbia, some of Homma’s most significant works, which captured the suburban landscapes and the children and adolescents of Tokyo. Suburbia won him the prestigious Kimura Ihei Award, and is now a coveted collector’s item, fetching high prices online.

Homma turned 61 this year and he remains incredibly active, with numerous books, exhibitions, fashion editorials, and collaborations with various brands. Homma said that as a young man, “works by artists such as William Eggleston, Robert Adams, and Nobuyoshi Araki helped me choose photography as a profession.”

Born in 1962 in the Tokyo suburbs, Homma grew up in a family that ran a camera shop. He studied photography at Nihon University before becoming an in-house photographer for an ad agency in Tokyo, and in the early ’90s he moved to London to work with magazines like i-D. “When I started, I knew nothing about photography,” he says. “Gradually, I realized it suited me.” The biggest difference between when he began and now is the shift from physical prints to digital screens. “But in the UK, many independent magazines still come out on paper,” he says. “I found that surprising.”

Homma has long showcased his work through the medium of print. He has published in a variety of formats, including zines and hardcover books, and has even created posters for Japanese magazines like Brutus, utilizing a range of media beyond traditional framed prints. One might expect a master of a field to have unwavering beliefs or indispensable values, but Homma embraces an inclusive approach to his subjects and techniques, employing analog methods, like camera obscura, and digital technologies. His publication 2023 AW Istanbul Collection consists entirely of photos taken with an iPhone. He defines good photography not as something intrinsic to the artist, but as something external. “I prefer open photography,” he says. “It’s about images that anonymous viewers can freely interpret in their own way.”

This aligns with the description by photographers Martin Parr and Gerry Badger in their book The Photobook: A History, Volume II regarding Tokyo Suburbia. They describe Homma’s work as having a tone that is “ambiguous enough both to intrigue us and keep us guessing.” This ambiguity encourages viewers to continually question and reflect on the photographs. It also includes the disillusionment one might feel upon discovering that the child featured in his well-known book Tokyo and My Daughter is not actually his daughter, contrary to what many online articles have claimed. In fact, that book even includes photos that were not taken by Homma.

Last year, Homma participated in a group exhibition at Montreal’s CCA (Canadian Centre for Architecture). He advises young photographers: “A camera takes photographs. Young photographers, especially Japanese, always try to apply their feelings about subjects. But I always tell them not to worry about it. The camera takes the photograph.” His Instagram handle, @seeing_itself, reflects his philosophy of observing things as they are. When asked how to cultivate a sense of recognizing good things, Homma responds, “I think it’s better to remember the obvious fact that the world is bigger and wider than oneself.

“If you know what makes a good photograph, please teach me as well,” he says. Despite having photographed for many years and reaching a level of mastery, Homma admits that he cannot put into words what constitutes the essential value of a photograph. The more one knows, the more one tends to be cautious and reserved in their words. Homma believes that the evaluation of a work’s value becomes clearer after at least ten years: “After ten years,” he says, “the assessment of what is good and what is meaningless will become more apparent.”

Homma’s work is a continuous endeavor; he refers to his overall project as the “new documentary,” and it is marked by sustained reflection and effort. His famous New Wave series, which began in Hawaii in 2000, continues to evolve in different locations and times. The series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji has been ongoing since 2016, and his mushroom series started in 2011.

Homma describes the concept underlying his “new documentary” as “small” and “intimate.” While these photographs may superficially seem like mere city or nature images, a deeper examination reveals intricate sociocultural contexts. For example, his mushroom photographs are connected to the Tohoku earthquake and the Fukushima area. Homma has visited forests on three continents to search for radioactive mushrooms. His New York photo book, Stars and Stripes, collects images taken in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks, capturing everyday scenes mixed with memorial notes and flowers. He does not loudly proclaim his themes but expresses layered meanings metaphorically. His Tokyo photo book Tokyo Olympia, published last year, documents the changing landscape of Tokyo over six years in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The cityscapes of Tokyo, when viewed at different points in time, offer infinite perspectives.

Homma is also a beloved artist in the fashion industry, working with magazines like HommeGirls, Self Service, and GQ, and collaborating on collections from brands like Prada, Saint Laurent, We11done, and ASICS x Cecilie Bahnsen. Industry insiders admire and look to him for insight. “Even when photographing fashion, I always shoot as if it were documentary photography,” he says.

Homma’s photographs are even more impactful when experienced through carefully edited photo books. In Tokyo, there are many great places to explore his photo books, such as Daikanyama T-Site, POST books, twelvebooks, and the used book district of Jimbocho. When asked about recommended spots for SSENSE’s global readers, the local Tokyoite Homma gave a rather intriguing answer: “I recommend waltz. They sell rare cassette tapes of my music activities.” For his dedicated fans, it is known that he is interested in projects beyond photography, including piano, guitar, and filmmaking.

Although it has only been a few weeks since the release of his new book 17, Homma is already focused on his next project. This fall, he will publish another volume with Dashwood Books, Portrait of J, which will compile portraits of Japanese individuals. He’ll also be heading to Bangladesh for an art project: “It’s a project with UNHCR [the UN Refugee Agency] and the Setouchi Triennale to photograph portraits of refugees.”

Homma’s ongoing pursuit of novelty and his consistent body of work over the decades provide a profound resonance for contemporary creatives. Yet his work remains far from the ephemeral, instantaneous photography of today. In an era where AI can photoshop photographs and create imaginative images, and where social media allows artists to become famous overnight, Homma keeps a wry perspective. “I also wish I could become a famous artist overnight,” he says.