Embrace

Eikoh Hosoe’s Embrace (Japanese title: Shomei) is a Japanese-language hardcover monograph published in Tokyo in 1971 by Shashin Hyoronsha Publishing House. The volume features 96 pages of photographs captured by the artist between 1969 and 1970. These images depict intimate human interactions and figures, often in semi-nude settings, characterized by a studio-like approach with minimal backdrops. Hosoe’s photographic style in this series is distinguished by its focus on formal composition and the aesthetic dynamism of the human form, rather than the explicit sexual passion associated with other contemporary Japanese photographers like Nobuyoshi Araki. This first edition includes a preface by the renowned Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima, who noted the "undercurrent of darkness" and isolation within Hosoe’s photographic artistry.