1. A lead image recognition method for recognizing leads by processing an image captured by a camera of a component provided with a single row or multiple rows of leads of the same size and shape at a regular pitch, the lead image recognition method comprising: waveform analysis processing that performs waveform analysis of a change pattern of brightness along multiple lines set in a vertical, a horizontal, or a diagonal direction of the image so as to identify a region in which the brightness changes cyclically as a lead recognition target region in which there is a possibility of a lead existing; and image recognition processing that performs lead image recognition in the lead recognition target region identified by the waveform analysis processing.