Homo Ludens

Masahisa Fukase
Homo Ludens

Photographs: Masahisa Fukase

Text: Nada Inada, Shoji Yamagishi

Publisher: AKAAKA

128 pages

Year: 2025

ISBN: 978-4-86541-197-3

Price: 55 €

Comments: Hardcover, 28 x 22,5 cm, b&w photographs. (PRE-ORDER) THE BOOK WILL BE AVAILABLE IN APRIL.

Masahisa Fukase's first photo book, 'Homo Ludens' (Yugi) (Chuo-koron-sha, Contemporary Images 4),was published in 1971. This anthology of photographs, structured into six sections, vividly captures the interplay between photography and life and is filled with the essence that would shape Fukase's later creations.

- To (Slaughter) features images of Yoko Wanibe, whom Fukase accompanied to a slaughterhouse, juxtaposing the dismemberment of livestock with Yoko posing in a black cloak.

Kotobuki (Congratulation) straightforwardly depicts his life with Yoko shortly after they got married, in amanner reminiscent of a private novel.

Gi (Frolic) portrays the underground scene in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where Fukase had gone after leaving the home he shared with Yoko, and the lifestyle of young people living together as a group

Mei (Memento), one of his earliest works, looks back on the pregnancy of his former partner, Yukiyo Kawakami, with whom he lived for eight years.

Meanwhile, Haha (Mother) and Fu (Music) capture scenes of Yoko and her mother.

Throughout these sections, 'Homo Ludens' conveys the mutual interplay of all living things, and the contradictory yet interconnected phenomena of life and death, meeting and parting.

Fukase's lens is turned towards himself and those close to him. The images explore the essence of life as a form of play, with raw and unflinching honesty. This first photo book stands as a powerful testament to Fukase's vision.

For this new reprint edition, all photographs and texts from the original version have been included, with a focus on reconfiguring the design to emphasize the relationship between the images and surrounding negative space, as well as the multilayered nature of the title. This approach serves as a timeless response to Fukase's vision.

With its exploration of the many facets of 'Homo Ludens', it remains a significant work, offering a renewed perspective not only on Fukase's oeuvre but also on the act of seeing itself and our own existence