Shimpai Asai- The Beatles in Tokyo: 100 Hours 1986 Edition

[PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS]

Photographer: Shimpai Asai
Japanese Title: 『ビートルズ東京 100時間のロマン』
English Title: The Beatles in Tokyo: 100 Hours of Romance
Publisher: CBC
Year Published: 1986
Edition: Second Edition
Language: Japanese
Format: Large-format softcover
Illustrations: Color photographs throughout
Subject: The Beatles’ 1966 visit to Tokyo
Inclusions: No obi or slipcase shown

[OVERVIEW]

The Beatles arrived at Haneda Airport before dawn on June 29, 1966, and departed Japan on July 3. Their stay lasted approximately 100 hours.

Shimpai Asai was still in his twenties and not yet widely known when he was selected to photograph the visit. His appointment reflected a mixture of circumstance and judgment. Many senior figures in Japan’s media and music industries had not yet recognized the historical importance of the Beatles, and the organizers saw no need to employ an established photographer at considerable expense. Asai, however, had received an APA photography award the previous year. His modern, spontaneous approach also appeared better suited to the group’s youth culture than the formal portrait and hard-news conventions of the period.

The assignment placed him unusually close to the four musicians. For security reasons, the Beatles were effectively confined to the Tokyo Hilton. Asai was given a room on the same floor and remained on call around the clock, at times waiting in the corridor for a door to open and a brief opportunity to photograph.

He recorded the Nippon Budokan performances, but the hotel photographs give the book its particular character. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr appear smoking, drinking, resting and waiting. Beds, clothing, glasses, ashtrays and room-service objects remain around them.

These were not photographs made from the crowd. Asai spent the same restricted hours inside.

[IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION]

The text is printed in Japanese. It can be read using smartphone translation tools such as Google Lens, ChatGPT or Google Translate.

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

The title refers to the actual duration of the visit: approximately 100 hours from arrival at Haneda to departure on July 3.

Asai’s position gave him access to both sides of those hours. He photographed the public performances at the Nippon Budokan and the enforced stillness of the hotel, where the group spent much of its time isolated from Tokyo. The book preserves that contrast without separating the spectacle from the waiting.

This 1986 second edition presents the sequence in a large format with strong color reproduction. The present copy is notably well preserved, with crisp pages, bright printing and very little evidence of repeated handling.

[CONDITION]

Very Good condition — exceptionally well preserved.

Cover: Very light surface rubbing and minor shelf wear along the edges and corners. No major creases, tears or losses are visible.

Binding: Firm and secure, with little evidence of repeated opening.

Interior: Exceptionally clean and crisp. The pages show minimal signs of handling and appear scarcely read. Color photographs remain bright and well saturated, with no conspicuous writing, stains, tears or missing pages visible in the listing photographs.

Please examine all listing photographs for the condition and contents.