Kamaitachi

Eikoh Hosoe
Kamaitachi

Photographs: Eikoh Hosoe

Text: Shuzo Takiguchi & Toyoichiro Miyoshi

Publisher: Gendaishichosha

Pictures: 33

Year: 1969

Comments: Linen hardcover in a cardboard slipcase, 385 x 315 mm. Each large image concealed within a blue gatefold that must be carefully opened before viewing. First edition, 1969 (Scarce original edition). Limited edition of 1000 numbered copies. Included in Martin Parr & Gerry Badger, The Photobook, vol.I, p. 284-285 ; Open Book 248-249; Auer 497. Slipcase a little hurt on the edges, acetate jacket has some tears and a little part is missing(See pictures). Inside the copy is in very good condition. Col

A collaboration with Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of ankoku butoh dance, it documents their visit to a farming village in northern Japan and an improvisational performance made with local villagers, inspired by the legend of kamaitachi, a weasel-like demon who haunts rice fields and slashes people with a sickle. Hosoe photographed Hijikata's spontaneous interactions with the landscape and the people they encountered. A seductive combination of performance and photography, the two artists enact a personal and symbolic investigation of Japanese society during a time of massive upheaval.