The Styrous® Viewfinder: Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

March 22, 2019

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

photo of book by Styrous®

A friend of mine recently received an extraordinary birthday present; it is a first U. S. edition of the images of photographer Tamotsu Yato published by Grove Press, Inc. in 1967.

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

detail photo of page by Styrous®

Entitled, Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan, the book features iconic black-and-white portraits of over fifty of Japan’s most devoted bodybuilders – nicknamed a new breed of samurai for their rigorous training and tirelessly refined figures.

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

detail photo of page by Styrous®

It's not just the images of the bodybuilders that are remarkable but the construction and binding of the book as well. In addition, the book was edited by Keizo Aizawa, there is an essay by Hitoshi Tamari and an introduction by the great Japanese writer, actor, film director and bodybuilder, Yukio Mishima who is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century, (link below).

Mishima's life was depicted in the 1985 film, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters; Philip Glass composed the score for the film (links below).

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

photo by Tamotsu Yato

photo of pages by Styrous®

Tamotsu Yato (矢頭保 Yatō Tamotsu, 1928(?), 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 Mishima and 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.

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

detail photo of page by Styrous®

Although 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. Graphic artist 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!"

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

photo of page by Styrous®

Tamotsu Yato published three volumes of photography:

Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan (1966)

Naked festival: A Photo-Essay (1969)

Otoko: Photo-Studies of the Young Japanese Male (1972)

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

detail photo of page by Styrous®

Suicidal and with family conflict, friends said Yato's first visit to a gay bar in Osaka was in 1956. That was when he met Weatherby. Ten years senior to Yato, Weatherby became lover, benefactor, mentor and promoter in an open relationship as they co-existed with filmmaker Ritchie. It was early in this period that Weatherby encouraged Yato to become a photographer.

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

photo of page by Styrous®

When Yukio Mishima committed seppuku (hara-kiri, a ritualized suicide) in 1970, Weatherby broke off the relationshjp with Yato. Yato was exiled to a seedy suburb and his life spiraled into anger, bitterness and substance abuse. Tamotsu Yato died of an enlarged heart in May, 1973.

Tamotsu Yato ~ Young Samurai: Bodybuilders of Japan

photo of book back cover by Styrous®

After his death, friends discovered Yato’s apartment had been ransacked and the cameras and equipment had disappeared. Only a few negatives and photographs remained. An estranged brother appeared and threatened lawsuits if anybody republished the work.

What has survived exists in two places – Tokyo and San Diego. There was never a reprinting of any of Yato's books. Except for his three books, his work was never publicly shown and the type of men represented within Otoko have disappeared from Japanese society. Nevertheless, Yato maintains a cult following and is cited as a major influence by several male erotic photographers. The pictures he produced are classic.