SHIPPING EARLY NOVEMBER

“This is my favorite small series. I had never created a work like this prior, and never have since, but it was heavily influenced by Aya Koda’s novel Kimono. Here is the spirit of a young photographer – I was 29 years old at the time – who wanted to see how far photography could come in competition with Ms. Koda's kimono literature, the best in Japan. I don't remember that mourning clothes appeared in the novel, but I really wanted to dress a beautiful woman, who lost her husband at a young age, in mourning clothes. So I persuaded Miki Aoyama, a model I was close to at the time, to be the widow. In the series “Kimono”, I wanted to depict the first half of a woman's life, up to marriage, married life, the death of her husband, and her determination to become independent.” — Eikoh Hosoe, 1988

Eikoh Hosoe (1933–2024) was a highly acclaimed Japanese photographer and filmmaker, known for his avant-garde, experimental style that explored themes of life, death, and human sexuality through myth and symbolism. A co-founder of the influential Vivo photography agency and the Jazz Film Laboratory, he gained international recognition for his collaborations with writer Yukio Mishima in Barakei (Ordeal by Roses) and with Butoh dancer Tatsumi Hijikata in Kamaitachi. Hosoe was a significant figure in postwar Japanese art, recognized with numerous awards, including The Medal with Purple Ribbon, and held positions such as director of the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts. 

Hosoe provided the images and layout for his contribution to our One Picture Book series, and after finalizing the printing proofs, sadly passed away at the age of ninety-one. His family provided his name seal which is stamped onto the back of each original print included within the books.

Kimono is limited to 500 numbered copies, each including a 5x7 inch original print with Hosoe’s name seal.