Japonesthétique — Takato Yamamoto (ジャポネステティーク)

Japonesthétique is an art monograph by Takato Yamamoto, collecting over 100 works drawn from his Japanese historical, literary, and theatrical imagery. This is the first printing of the redesigned 2025 edition, published by Editions Treville. Each copy is signed by the artist inside the front cover.

The title fuses "Japonisme" with "aesthetic" — a precise description of the book's scope. The works gathered here are all previously unpublished in Yamamoto's earlier monographs. They encompass samurai, oiran, ghosts, oni, geisha, shunga, and imagery drawn from classic Japanese film and literature. The volume also contains a text written by Yamamoto himself.

Themes and Sources

The imagery in Japonesthétique derives from illustration and cover work created in connection with novels, plays, and films. Literary sources include the work of Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Kyoka Izumi, Kido Okamoto, Seishi Yokomizo, and Fūtarō Yamada. The book also includes homage works connected with illustrator Hikozo Ito and artist Kashō Takabatake, as well as works reflecting the influence of Ukiyo-e master Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The volume collects Yamamoto's illustrations inspired by or commissioned for these sources; it does not reproduce the complete novels or plays.

About the Artist

Takato Yamamoto was born in 1960. Working from a foundation in Ukiyo-e, he developed the "Ukiyo-e Pop" approach and refined it further into what he terms "Heisei Decadence" — a style applied across aesthetic novels, fantasy and erotic fiction, historical literature, book cover design, and advertising illustration. He is a member of the International Ukiyo-e Society.

Edition Notes

This is the first printing of the 2025 (newly designed edition). This edition should be understood as a redesigned reissue, not an augmented one. Page count remains 120. This is the regular edition.

Other Works by Takato Yamamoto

Further titles by Takato Yamamoto available in the shop:

• Grass Labyrinth
• Tale of a Castle Keep
• Coffin of a Chimera
• Allure of Pharmakon
• Rib of a Hermaphrodite
• Divertimento for a Martyr
• Altar of Narcissus
• Necrophantasmagoria Vanitas
• Nosferatu

Browse the full Takato Yamamoto selection, or explore the broader Art & Illustration Books catalogue.