Yukio Mishima Sun & Steel 1968 Kodansha True First Ed 1st Print Hardcover w/Slipcase & Obi

[PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS]

• Author: Yukio Mishima (三島由紀夫)
• Title: 太陽と鉄 (Sun & Steel)
• Publisher: Kodansha (講談社), Tokyo
• Year Published: 1968 (Showa 43) — True First Edition, First Printing
• Language: Japanese
• Format: Hardcover, 23.5 × 19 cm, 150 pages
• Inclusions: Cardboard slipcase (函) + Obi band (帯, 6-line)

[OVERVIEW]

In 1968, two years before his ritual suicide on the grounds of the Japan Self-Defense Forces headquarters, Yukio Mishima published 太陽と鉄 — Sun & Steel — his most nakedly autobiographical document. Framed by the publisher as a new literary genre — 「自伝的評論」, autobiographical criticism — the text traces the arc of Mishima's obsession with physical transformation: the scrawny, bookish child who remade himself through iron and sunlight into the body displayed on the dust jacket, sword in hand, staring into the black circle of absolute confrontation.

The back cover photograph is the argument made flesh: Mishima's torso in a circle of darkness, sword drawn, the composition of a man who had decided. The Obi band announces it as the sequel to Kamen no Kokuhaku, Confessions of a Mask. The slipcase — plain kraft, unadorned — encloses it all in the quiet of a relic. On November 25, 1970, Mishima performed seppuku. This copy predates that event by two years.

[IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION]

The text is printed in Japanese. An authoritative English translation — Sun & Steel, translated by John Bester — is widely available, making this Japanese first edition accessible as a collector's object for readers who already know the work. Japanese text is also easily translatable using Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate.

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

1. True First Edition, First Printing — Two Years Before Mishima's Death — Published in 1968 (Showa 43), this is the first printing of the text in which Mishima most explicitly theorized his own mortality, his body, and his relationship to the sword. First printings of major Mishima titles in complete, intact condition are increasingly scarce on the international market.
2. Complete with Slipcase and Obi — Intact After 58 Years — The cardboard slipcase and six-line Obi band — announcing the book as the sequel to Confessions of a Mask — survive together. The survival rate of both elements in collectible condition after nearly six decades is extremely low.
3. The Dust Jacket Photograph as Manifesto — The back cover image of Mishima — bare-chested, sword drawn, posed within a black circle — is one of the most reproduced photographs in Japanese literary history. To hold this first printing is to hold the primary document of one of literature's most extreme aesthetic commitments.

[CONDITION]

Very Good (VG) — Honest Vintage Survival

• Slipcase: Very Good. Light overall toning consistent with 58 years of age. Small tears and brown sun-fading marks on the spine — the natural consequence of decades of careful shelving. Structure fully intact.
• Obi Band: Present and intact, with light toning at edges.
• Covers & Spine: Very Good. The striking red-to-black gradient dust jacket with white solar disc retains strong visual impact. Spine intact and legible.
• Binding: Tight, secure, and fully intact.
• Interior & Pages: Very Good. Interior is clean throughout. The gold-toned endpapers show a rich patina from 58 years of natural aging — a hallmark of quality Japanese bookbinding of the era. No writing, no tears, no missing pages. All 150 pages complete and intact.
• *Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos to verify condition.