Tensoku is a new illustrated volume from Straight Books in Japan that introduces the delicate artistry of pinning and mounting insect specimens – in this case, beetles – that is an obsession in that country.
The book details the methodology employed by the distinguished specimen artist Fukui Takataka which involves setting the pose of a specimen using numerous pins. His techniques have shaped a unique culture among entomologists and enthusiasts worldwide and this volume Includes rare insect specimens from the British Museum of Natural History, cleaned and re-exposed with special permission using Fukui’s methods to bring them back to convincing, beautifully detailed life.
Photographed by Koji Sakai.
Straight Books, 112pp, 19cm x 24cm, illustrated paperback, 2025