Photo-theater: Tokyo Elegy

Tokyo: Tojusha, (1981). Just about fine in black wrappers with French flaps, almost fine white pictorial dust jacket (very lightly soiled), and scarce black obi (tad rubbed).. First Edition. Small square quarto. Many images in sequence, mostly black and white and shot between 1967-1972, with several iconic photographs interspersed among those previously unpublished. The juxtaposition of a highly charged erotic series followed by somber shots of Araki's father's funereal is indicative not only of Araki's artistic prowess, but also of the inherent risk taking that infuses the best of the Japanese photobooks. True to form, the book has a brilliant layout, design, and a subtly provocative dust jacket. Only one copy in OCLC. (Book of Nudes 188-189, obi not present.)