A photobook tracing the faces that shape contemporary Japan through a wide-ranging and deeply reflective portrait project.
Portrait of J is a photobook by Japanese photographer Takashi Homma, bringing together portraits of 111 Japanese subjects photographed between 2002 and recent years. Paying tribute to the figures the artist considers his mentors—including Pritzker Prize-winning architect Arata Isozaki and photographer Takuma Nakahira, co-founder of the legendary photography magazine PROVOKE—the book also encompasses people from many generations, professions and life experiences who continue to shape the present. With a quiet intensity and unmistakable clarity, Homma’s portraits invite sustained reflection on the everyday yet extraordinary faces that make up the social and cultural fabric of contemporary Japan.
Over the past four decades, Homma has produced a body of work that has made him one of the most influential figures in Japanese photography today. From the early suburban landscapes of Tokyo Suburbia (Korinsha Press, 1998) to conceptually driven projects exploring architecture, nature and urban history, he has consistently challenged and expanded the role of photography within visual culture. His influence extends well beyond Japan, with exhibitions and publications contributing to broader international dialogues around identity, place and the evolving visual language of the photobook. In this context, Portrait of J is especially significant: rather than offering an idealised or externalised image of Japan, it presents a grounded and deliberate portrait of contemporary Japanese life as articulated by a Japanese photographer from within.
Signed by the artist.
—
Title: Portrait of J
Artist: Takashi Homma
Publisher: Dashwood Books / Session Press, September 2025
Format: Hardcover
Size: 200 × 280 mm
Pages: 232
Language: Japanese / English
Edition: First edition, signed by the artist
