i’ve stayed in the japanese prefecture of kumamoto, in kyushu, several times. what brings me back is the stunningly beautiful landscape around the ancient caldera of mount aso or asosan. the outer caldera is up to 80 – 150Km around, and is one of the biggest in the world. it is the result of a series of cataclysmic eruptions which took place between 90,000 and 300,000 years ago. my first pictures here were made nearly twenty years ago, and i took many in subsequent visits over the years. these were mostly made around the edges of the caldera, and near the summit of the very much still active central peaks, the core of the ancient volcano.
the whole area is subject to continuing volcanic and seismic activity, with tremors and earthquakes of variable intensity. there have been at least two serious events since my last visit, and the most recent took place in 2019.
these images then, present a landscape which has now changed significantly, and is perhaps a reminder that the expression ‘solid ground’ refers to something that we tend to take a little too much for granted.