Yamamoto Masao

For over 30 years, photographer Masao Yamamoto has quietly captured the various facets of the sky, mountains, trees, and the birds and animals that gather there, guided by the consistent theme that "humans are a part of nature."

By capturing the swaying of the wind and fleeting moments of light, his skillfully manipulated shadows reveal a world of overwhelming serenity—steeped in a profound "yohaku" (empty space) that awakens the viewer's own memories. Each photograph, shot on film and finished using the classical gelatin silver print process, is hand-treated with toning, abrasion, and sometimes hand-painted accents. This transforms them into "objects" with a tangible presence that transcends mere imagery.

This definitive volume spans his early vintage prints to his most iconic recent works and includes commentary written by the artist himself. To turn these pages—where a sense of nostalgic patina coexists with a vivid, present-moment freshness—is to experience a reclaiming of that fading sense of awe toward the natural world.