Barakei / Killed by Roses (Signed by both artists)

Eikoh Hosoe
Barakei / Killed by Roses (Signed by both artists)

Photographs: Eikoh Hosoe

Publisher: Shueisha

Year: 1963

Comments: Hardcover under vinyl dust jacket with slipcase, 440 x 285 mm. First edition. Limited edition of 1500 copies with numbering. Design by Kohei SUGIURA. Included in "The Photobook: A History Volume I by Parr and Badger and "The Japanese Photobook, 1912–1990" by Kaneko Ryuichi & Manfred Heiting. Wears on Slipcase. In very good condition except for some stains on traces paper as usual and some traces on scratches on the delicate pages printed in a rich black gravure ! Signed copy.

In 1963, controversial author Yukio Mishima and photographer Eikoh Hosoe put the finishing touches on their masterful collaboration Barakei (Killed by Roses), part photographic performance, part surreal portrait of Mishima as both iconoclast and self-mythologist. The original edition, designed by Kohei Sugiura, famously established the touchstone for two subsequent editions in 1971 and 1985. Aperture is delighted to reissue this faithfully reproduced facsimile of the 1963 classic, making available once again one of the most infamous and intriguing photo books of the twentieth century. This edition is exquisitely produced by the Japanese art shop NADiff, in close consultation with Eikoh Hosoe. It is published in a limited edition of five hundred copies for Aperture and five hundred copies for NADiff.
Eikoh Hosoe (born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, 1933) is an integral part of the history of modern Japanese photography; he remains a driving force not only for his own work, but also for his efforts as a teacher and ambassador, fostering artistic exchange between Japan and the rest of the world. Hosoe is represented by Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York. He lives in Tokyo. (from the publisher of the reprint)