Izu no odoriko [The Dancing Girl of Izu]

SIGNED BY JAPAN'S FIRST NOBEL PRIZE WINNER FOR LITERATURE

Third edition. No. 169 of a limited edition of 180 copies. 8vo. Original decorated boards in (slightly worn and damaged) slipcase. Overall a very good copy signed by the author. 69pp. Decorated endpapers. Tokyo, Egawa Shobo, 

A beautifully produced limited edition of Yasunari Kawabata's famous work, The Dancing Girl of Izu, with colour woodblock vignettes throughout, and hand-coloured cover design by Oana Ryuichi (1894-1966).

 

A story of innocence and first love, told through a lonely twenty-year-old university student. In the last days of his summer holidays, the protagonist decides to travel to the Izu Peninsula. Along the way, he meets a band of travelling musicians, among whom is a young dancer called Kaoru. The story was praised for its deceptive simplicity, under which lie the complexities of youth and melancholia. Kawabata had a deep appreciation of Japan's traditional arts and music, which is a theme explored in many of his notable works.

 

The first edition of this title was published by Kinseido in 1927. Rare. Only one copy in OCLC.

Stock Code: 248332