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Hosoe, Eikoh (Artist/Photographer); Hijikata, Tatsumi (Subject) & Yokoo, Tadanori (Designer) : Kamaitachi: Photographs By Eikoh Hosoe

Aperture Foundation, New York City, NY, 2005

ISBN 1931788804

First Edition / First Printing. As New in As New Dust Jacket. 132 pages. The artist/photographer's masterpiece, re-presented as an Artist Book. One of the greatest art photography books of our time. Limited Clamshell Box Edition of 500 numbered and signed copies. Precedes and should not be confused with the regular trade edition. The Limited Edition is now rare. An exquisite production by Eikoh Hosoe, Ikko Tanaka, and Tadanori Yokoo: Oversize-volume format. Pictorial cloth boards with blue titles on spine, as issued. Photographs by Eikoh Hosoe. Choreography by Tatsumi Hijikata. Introduction by Shuzo Takiguchi. Poem by Toyoichiro Miyoshi. Clamshell box design by Tadanori Yokoo, the greatest graphic artist/designer of our time. In publisher's original shrinkwrap. Printed on pristine-white, thick uncoated stock paper in Tokyo, Japan to the highest standards. In pristine glassine DJ with blue titles on the cover, as issued. Re-presents, in a stunning Limited Edition format, Eikoh Hosoe's "Kamaitachi". The artist/photographer's masterpiece, re-imagined for our time: The book as beautiful object. Originally published in 1969, it has never before been available outside Japan and has been out-of-print for more than 40 years. "Each of the pages is printed as an individual gatefold, each of which opens to reveal a single, stunning black-and-white image. The exterior of each gatefold is printed in a spectacular azure blue. The effect of opening the book is of stepping into an unknown landscape of theater and baroque sensuality. A singular collaboration between Eikoh Hosoe and the founder of Butoh Dance, Tatsumi Hijikata: In 1965, Hosoe and Hijikata visited a small farming village in Northern Japan. Drawing in the villagers as performers and using the rice fields and rural landscape as a theatrical set for an improvisational Butoh performance, Hosoe photographed Hijikata's spontaneous interactions with the landscape and with the people they encountered. Hosoe has called the project 'a subjective documentary', an investigation of tradition and an exploration both personal and symbolic of the convulsions of Japanese society. It was inspired by the legend of the Kamaitachi, a weasel-like demon who haunts the rice fields and slashes those who encounter him" (Publisher's blurb). Hosoe called "Kamaitachi" a subjective documentary because it is his most personal work, a poignant attempt to recapture his wartime childhood in a visual (rather than narrative) way, by capturing Hijikata's choreographic flourish and grace in panoramic landscapes. An absolute "must-have" title for Eikoh Hosoe collectors. This copy is one of the Limited Clamshell Box Edition, indicated as such on the Front Limitation Slip. It is very prominently and beautifully signed in azure-blue ink-pen by Eikoh Hosoe. Hosoe also stamped it with his red "chop". This title is a great art photography book. This is one of few copies of the Limited Edition still available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: The clamshell box of many copies was very badly damaged in transit because of poor packing on the publisher's part, resulting in splits at the edges, bumps, and crushed corners. The edition that was simultaneously released in Japan does not come in Tadanori Yokoo's clamshell box, but in a simple slipcase. Copies of the 1969 original now command more than $8000. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. 40 tritone plates. "Ba Ra Kei" and "Kamaitachi" were selected as two of the greatest photography books in "The Photobook". One of the greatest artist/photographers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER EIKOH HOSOE TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1931788804.

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