Young Samurai. Bodybuilders of Japan
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1967. 1st US Edition. Quarto, publisher's black and brown buckram cloth, spine gilt, upper board stamped in black, brown laid endpapers, original photo-illustrated dust jacket.
First US edition of self-taught photographer Tamotsu Yato's monograph on Japanese bodybuilders, with an introduction by towering Japanese writer, actor and athlete Yukio Mishima: "Japanese bodybuilding as it is today seems somehow to have become something more than just an importation to make up for the lack of a Japanese tradition of physical culture, seems somehow to have in it the seeds for a rebirth of the ancient Japanese sense of the spiritual worth of the body..." Yato, who is cited as an influence in the world of Japanese male erotica, was a part of Mishima's close inner circle, being the long-term lover of the writer's principal English translator, Meredith Weatherby, who designed the book. Indeed, Mishima, a fervent enthusiast of physical fitness, appears as one of Yato's models here (pp.54-55). Illustrated with 140 striking full-bleed black-and-white gravures; with a historical essay by manager of the Japan Bodybuilding Association Hitoshi Tamari, a note by the photographer, a list of plates, and index of models. Originally published in Japan in 1966. Book fine; unclipped dust jacket with chipping to spine-ends, moderate edgewear, and some dampstaining to verso. Very good. Item #9885
$400.00