Midori - Nobuyoshi Araki

ARAKI, Nobuyoshi. Midori. First edition. Small 4to. Unpaginated with b&w plates in printed wraps. Japanese text. Tokyo: Tankisha, 1982. A beautiful, obscure offering from Araki. It's also worth noting that there is no nudity. The simple, elegant and restrained photo story has 19th century roots, based on Meiji novelist Ichiyo Higuchi's Takekurabe. Midori is the younger sister of a hostess, and the story is that of her last days before she falls to the same fate. Filled with foreboding regret, Araki's portrait of a current day masseuse echoes the novel's tragic and mournful theme.