William Faulkner — Sanctuary / サンクチュアリ 罪の祭壇 Getsuyō Shobō 1950 First Japanese Edition

William Faulkner — Sanctuary / サンクチュアリ —罪の祭壇—, 月曜書房 (Getsuyō Shobō), Tokyo, 1950 (Showa 25). True First Japanese Edition. First Printing.

Published on December 24, 1950 — the same year William Faulkner received the Nobel Prize in Literature — this first Japanese edition of Sanctuary arrived in occupied Japan at a moment of extraordinary cultural significance. Translated by the distinguished team of Naotaro Tatsuguchi and Masami Nishikawa, and published by the now-defunct Getsuyō Shobō (月曜書房) of Kanda Jinbōchō, this is Faulkner's most visceral and controversial novel rendered into Japanese for the first time.

Faulkner himself called it "the most horrific novel I could imagine" — a story of bootleggers, kidnapping, murder, lynching, and moral collapse in the American South. The book design is by Yoshio Kitanaka (北中義雄). The volume retains its original dust jacket, the publisher's Ken-in-shi (copyright stamp), and the rare Getsuyō Shobō Monthly Bulletin Vol. IV (1950) — a fragile ephemeral insert almost never found with surviving copies.

WHY THIS VOLUME IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR'S ITEM

1. 歴史的・文学的価値 — Published in the Nobel Prize year, this is the first Japanese translation of Faulkner's most notorious work. A primary document of postwar Japanese literary culture under Allied occupation.
2. ビジュアル・芸術的価値 — Book design by Yoshio Kitanaka. The bold two-tone cover — beige, crimson, and forest green — with the elegant "sanctuary" script is a masterwork of early postwar Japanese book design.
3. 月報・検印紙の希少価値 — Complete with original dust jacket, Ken-in-shi, and the Getsuyō Shobō Monthly Bulletin Vol. IV — an ephemeral insert that rarely survives 75 years intact.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

• Author: William Faulkner
• Title: Sanctuary / サンクチュアリ —罪の祭壇—
• Translators: Naotaro Tatsuguchi (龍口直太郎) & Masami Nishikawa (西川正身)
• Book Design: Yoshio Kitanaka (北中義雄)
• Publisher: 月曜書房 (Getsuyō Shobō), Kanda Jinbōchō, Tokyo
• Year Published: 1950 (Showa 25), December 24 — True First Japanese Edition, First Printing
• Language: Japanese
• Format: Hardcover
• Inclusions: Original dust jacket, Ken-in-shi (copyright stamp), Getsuyō Shobō Monthly Bulletin Vol. IV (1950)

CONDITION: Good — Remarkable Survival for a 75-Year-Old Paperbound

• Dust Jacket: Age-appropriate foxing and scattered tanning spots visible in listing photographs — consistent with 75 years of existence. Structurally intact. For a first printing of this age and publisher, this level of survival is genuinely uncommon.
• Covers & Spine: Clean and intact. Kitanaka's cover design fully legible and visually striking.
• Binding: Tight and fully intact.
• Interior & Pages: Age-toned as expected. Ken-in-shi present. Monthly Bulletin insert present. No writing, no tears.
• Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photographs to verify condition before purchasing.

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION
While the text is printed in Japanese, you can easily read and study this historic book using modern smartphone AI tools. Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate will instantly translate any page. Language is no longer a barrier to owning this rare piece of literary history.