Bonten Taro Horisei Hadae: Nihon no Irezumi - Japanese TATTOO 1976 1st Ed

[PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS]
- Author: 初代彫清 凡天太郎 (Bonten Taro / Horisei I)
- Title: Hadae: Nihon no Irezumi /Japanese TATTOO
- Publisher: Rippuushobo
- Year Published: 1976 (Showa 51) — True First Edition
- Language: Japanese
- Format: Hardcover with vinyl dust jacket
- Inclusions: Dust jacket

[OVERVIEW]

Bontentaro Horisei I (b. 1929) was one of the most extraordinary figures to emerge from postwar Japanese culture — a man who defied every category his era attempted to impose on him. Tattoo master, painter, gekiga illustrator, manga artist, novelist, film director, stage director, actor, singer, and restaurateur: he inhabited all of these roles simultaneously and with complete conviction.

When drawing shojo manga he published under the pen name Ishii Kiyomi; his landmark series include Furyou Shoujo Den: Konketsuji Rika and Furyou Anego Den: Inoshika Ocho — titles that entered the mainstream of Japanese pop culture. In the fashion world, he collaborated with Kansai Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Hanae Mori, and Junko Koshino, bringing the visual grammar of irezumi into direct contact with Japan’s haute couture avant-garde. As a director and actor, he staged productions based on his own kamikaze tokko-tai experience — Kaeranzaru Seishun and Seishun Sanka among them — bearing witness to the absurdity of war through the discipline of theatrical form.

As a tattooist, his innovations were radical. He was the first practitioner in Japan to introduce polychrome tattooing, trace transfer, and machine tattooing — transforming what had been an entirely hand-poke craft without sacrificing its classical Edo foundations. At the height of his career he maintained a live-in atelier of over twenty apprentices across tattooing, painting, gekiga, and music.

In the early 1990s, Bontentaro retired with his wife to Okinawa, intending to spend his remaining years purely as a painter. But the young people of the island came to him — and he founded the Bontenhada-e Juku, resuming the instruction of the next generation. In doing so, he became the first person to bring traditional wa-bori tattooing to Okinawa, an island that had had no resident master of the classical Japanese style.

This 1976 first edition — published by Rippuushobo at the peak of his career — is the definitive primary document of his art: full-body irezumi compositions in color and B&W, peony, dragon, koi, and deity rendered on living skin in the Edo tradition.

[IMPORTANT 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! By taking a photo of any page with your smartphone and using free apps like Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate, the embedded AI will instantly scan and translate the text on your screen layout. Language is no longer a barrier to owning and enjoying this rare piece of international history.

[WHY THIS VOLUME IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR'S ITEM]

1. Primary source rarity — A true first edition (Showa 51 / 1976), authored by a grandmaster of the Edo irezumi lineage. First printings of major Japanese tattoo documents from this era are extremely scarce on the international market.
2. A polymath’s testament — Bontentaro was not merely a tattoo artist but a cultural force: collaborator of Issey Miyake and Kansai Yamamoto, manga pioneer, film director, and the man who introduced wa-bori to Okinawa. This book is a document of an entire worldview.
3. Visual and photographic quality — Full-color and B&W photographic plates of complete bodysuit tattoos, flash designs, and behind-the-scenes documentation of the atelier. An irreplaceable visual archive for tattoo artists, collectors, and scholars worldwide.

[CONDITION]

Good Vintage Condition — Sound and Presentable for a 50-Year-Old First Edition

- Covers & Spine: A slight crease on the back cover.
- Binding: Tight, secure, and fully intact.
- Interior & Pages: Pages clean with natural age-toning; no inscriptions, stamps, foxing, or tears. A handsome copy overall.
- Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos to verify the vintage condition prior to purchase.