Mt.Fuji

Through the ukiyo-e prints of Hiroshige and Hokusai, as well as by tourist photographs and picture postcards, Mt. Fuji has long been known as a symbolic image of Japan both domestically and around the world. However, my desire to move away from this mass of ready-made images and capture Mt. Fuji as it had originally stood for me, as a mountain to climb, was the reason that I began to take pictures.”

Naoki Ishikawa excerpt from the afterword of Mt. Fuji

Published in 2008 by Little More, Naoki Ishikawa’s _Mount Fuji _brings viewers back to take a look at both the beginnings of his career as well as of his love for climbing. Known for having climbed the world’s seven tallest peaks, Naoki Ishikawa has been traveling since he was 17. Having climbed Mt. Everest, solo kayaked the Yukon River through Alaska to Canada, and traveling to Micronesia to study celestial navigation, it is nothing short of a wonder that Ishikawa is a true adventurer. With a love of travel engrained within his very nature, Ishiwaka began capturing his experiences through photography and turning them into photobooks. Ishikawa has now climbing Mt. Fuji over 40 times. Within, the images depict a visual portrait of the climb, from the forests of Mt. Fuji’s base up to the rocky volcanic landscapes and snow laden slopes, the photographs capture a mountain, symbolic in all its reflected forms and a personal portrayal of a side which is not so commonly seen.