Omokage: boku no sobyo [My Face: a Sketch].

£750 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

The first edition of this contemplative collection of Hayashi’s poems, inscribed to Takane Kiuchi (1896–1951), who was a literary editor and children’s book author. Hayashi writes in the introduction, “Strangely, when I write novels it hurts to breathe, but when I write poetic works under lamplight, it feels as though my heart is alight. I feel same the same sensation when I finish a picture” [our translation]. Her writing was renowned for its intensely personal feel, drawing from her difficult experiences of growing up in extreme poverty. Her fast-paced writing and heightened sensitivities are perhaps best demonstrated in her poetry, which captures the essence of her perspectives. Unusually, the title of this collection uses the informal masculine pronoun ‘boku’ and many of the poems are written from the male gaze. This book is handsomely designed, with spacious typesetting and features four colour reproductions of Hayashi’s paintings, which are extremely scarce. Hayashi travelled throughout Europe and was no doubt inspired by expressionism. Rare. Only one copy in OCLC.

• Year: 1933

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.