Altar of Narcissus — Takato Yamamoto, New Black Edition (2023)

Altar of Narcissus (ナルシスの祭壇) is the second collection of works by Japanese artist Takato Yamamoto, originally published in 2002. This copy is the 2023 New Black Edition, published by Editions Treville as part of the Pan-Exotica series. The copy is signed by the artist inside the front cover.

About This Edition

The 2023 New Black Edition is a genuine expanded and redesigned reissue. Eight additional plates were added, bringing the page count to 80 from 72 in the 2007 and 2019 editions. The physical presentation was redesigned: the book is enclosed in a black patterned sleeve and bound in a blue-silver cloth hardcover with charcoal-grey endpapers. This edition marks the 25th anniversary of the work. The official retail release date was 16 August 2023; the colophon date reads 31 August 2023. ISBN: 978-4-309-92265-2.

Content and Artistic Context

The collection draws on Japanese aesthetic traditions, fin-de-siècle symbolism, and decadent eroticism, combining grotesque and arabesque imagery with idealised male and female figures. The works are principally reproduced artworks presented with titles, captions, and publication material in both Japanese and English. Yamamoto's characteristic mode — the Heisei Decadence style — positions the body as a site of desire, mortality, and ornamental excess, indebted to Ukiyo-e conventions while departing from them toward a more overtly symbolist and erotic register.

Physical Specifications

Format: hardcover with black patterned sleeve. Size: 189 × 253 mm. Pages: 80. Weight: approximately 450 g. Series: Pan-Exotica. Language: Japanese / English. Publisher: Editions Treville. Year: 2023. ISBN: 978-4-309-92265-2. Book design: Milky Isobe. Manufactured in Japan.

Edition History

The copyright page records four editions: 2002 (first), 2007, 2019, and 2023 (current New Black Edition).

About Takato Yamamoto

Takato Yamamoto was born in 1960. He developed the Ukiyo-e Pop approach into a distinctive mode he terms Heisei Decadence, producing illustrations for aesthetic, fantasy, erotic, and historical novels, as well as book cover art and advertising work. He is a member of the International Ukiyo-e Society. Browse the full Takato Yamamoto catalogue in the shop, or explore the broader Art & Illustration Books collection.

Other Works by Takato Yamamoto

• Divertimento for a Martyr — New Black Edition
• Rib of a Hermaphrodite — New Black Edition
• Allure of Pharmakon — New Black Edition
• Coffin of a Chimera — New Black Edition
• Tale of a Castle Keep
• Grass Labyrinth
• Necrophantasmagoria Vanitas
• NOSFERATU
• Japonesthétique