Published by Secker & Warburg, London, 1968 (1st UK edition)/ 1951and 1953 (1st Japanese edition).
Translated from the Japanese by Alfred H. Marks, based on the original novel in Japanese ‘Kinjiki’, published in two parts in 1951 and 1953.
Octavo, [vii], 403 pages.
IMPORTANT & COLLECTIBLE: This novel is generally regarded as one of the most important novel in 20th Century gay literature. Its publication in Japan preceded other important works such as James Baldwin’s 1956 novel Giovanni’s Room’.
Set in post-war Tokyo, Forbidden Colours centres on Yuchi Minami, an extraordinarily beautiful young man, who feels little emotion or sexual attraction towards women, and Shunsake Hinoki, an ageing, cynical novelist, invited by his rejection by women, and by the decay of his own body and desirability.
VERY SCARCE: Currently, no copies for sale in Australia. I could find only three (1st UK/1st printings) worldwide, between A$289 to A$370.