Hometown 2 Kiyoshi Sonobe

This is a photobook by Japanese photographer Kiyoshi Sonobe.
Sonobe first entered the world of photography in 1942, when he joined Tōhōsha—the publisher of the propaganda photo magazine "FRONT"—as a darkroom technician. That experience gave him the chance to study under the renowned photographer Ihei Kimura, which inspired him to become a photographer himself.

After the war, he set out on his own as a freelance photographer, traveling all over Japan. Along the way, he photographed local landscapes, folk toys, and customs, capturing a way of life in which people lived closely with nature, just before Japan entered its era of rapid economic growth.

This book brings together photographs from Sonobe’s journeys across the country—from Wakkanai at the northern tip of Japan, to Tōno and Hida-Takayama, the northern shores of Lake Biwa in Shiga, Aso in Kumamoto, and all the way down to Taketomi Island in Okinawa. His images show traditional houses built from wood and straw, and offer a glimpse into everyday life at a time when electricity and gas were not yet part of people’s homes.