Tamotsu Yato
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
photographer and occasional actor responsible for pioneering Japanese homoerotic
photography and creating iconic black-and-white
images of the Japanese male. He was a friend and collaborator of the writer Yukio Mishima
and the film critic Donald Richie
, as well as a long-term romantic partner of Meredith Weatherby
, an expatriate American publisher and translator of Mishima's works into English. Yato completed three volumes of photography.
Even though Yato's work received only a limited public distribution, it has attained a cult following and has been acknowledged as a major influence by a number of artists working with male erotica. Thus, Sadao Hasegawa
remarks in his Paradise Visions: "Tamotsu Yato achieved fame by creating Otoko, a picture book. He photographed Yukio Mishima, nude. His subjects: traditional, muscular, unsophisticated countryside men, are mostly extinct today. Otoko was valuable because you could see these long-bodied, stout-legged, cropped hair, square-jawed men... Good-bye, men of Nippon!"
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
photographer and occasional actor responsible for pioneering Japanese homoerotic
Homoeroticism
Homoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...
photography and creating iconic black-and-white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
images of the Japanese male. He was a friend and collaborator of the writer Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
and the film critic Donald Richie
Donald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
, as well as a long-term romantic partner of Meredith Weatherby
Meredith Weatherby
Meredith Weatherby was a Texas-born American publisher who spent a large part of his life in Japan and who is known in particular for his English translations of the literary works by Yukio Mishima...
, an expatriate American publisher and translator of Mishima's works into English. Yato completed three volumes of photography.
Even though Yato's work received only a limited public distribution, it has attained a cult following and has been acknowledged as a major influence by a number of artists working with male erotica. Thus, Sadao Hasegawa
Sadao Hasegawa
was a prominent Japanese graphic artist specializing in male erotica. His work is notable for superb technical skills, elaborate fantastic settings , and for incorporating Japanese, Indian, South-East Asian and African mythology...
remarks in his Paradise Visions: "Tamotsu Yato achieved fame by creating Otoko, a picture book. He photographed Yukio Mishima, nude. His subjects: traditional, muscular, unsophisticated countryside men, are mostly extinct today. Otoko was valuable because you could see these long-bodied, stout-legged, cropped hair, square-jawed men... Good-bye, men of Nippon!"
Books by Tamotsu Yato
- Taidō: Nihon no bodibirudā-tachi . Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1966; English version: Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan, New York: Grove Press, 1967. With an introduction by Yukio MishimaYukio Mishimawas the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
. - Hadaka matsuri . Tokyo: Bijutsu Shuppansha, 1969; English version: Naked festival: A Photo-Essay, New York/Tokyo: John Weatherhill, 1968. With an introduction by Yukio MishimaYukio Mishimawas the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
and essays by Tatsuo Hagiwara, Mutsuro Takahashi, and Kozo Yamaji. Translated and adapted for Western readers by Meredith WeatherbyMeredith WeatherbyMeredith Weatherby was a Texas-born American publisher who spent a large part of his life in Japan and who is known in particular for his English translations of the literary works by Yukio Mishima...
and Sachiko Teshima. - Otoko: Photo-Studies of the Young Japanese Male, Los Angeles: Rho-Delta Press, 1972. Dedicated to the memory of Yukio MishimaYukio Mishimawas the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
.