Tokoyo no Mushi | Yoshiichi Hara | Sokyusha 2023 [SECOND EDITION]

4to, hardcover, second edition. Limited to 400ex.

Inspired by a passage from the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest Japanese texts known in literature, about an eternal god-like insect, Yoshihara weaves an urban tale of light and darkness from insects' point of view.

“These small insects die after the summer goes or even sooner. They usually have a few more days to live. How long have I lived? More than sixty summers; 64 years have gone to pass by me, almost in no success, in total boringness, but how many years more? How much work can I still make in this time left for me? Too little, or still very much? These small lives of insects teach me far deeper about the meaning of my lifetime than I could understand myself.” -  from Yoshiichi Hara’s afterword

The second edition include revisions to the included texts as well as an added chronology of Yoshiichi Hara’s major publications and exhibitions. All texts in Japanese and English.