Ba Ra Kei "Ordeal by Roses"

Yukio Mishima was a famously enigmatic author who committed suicide in 1970 at the age of 45. Eikoh Hosoe took these dark, mysterious photos of Mishima just a short time before his death. The props used in many photos symbolize restraint, a theme which is common in Japanese society. Usually the prop restrains Mishima's mouth, which could be taken as a sign of a desire to utter something forbidden.

These pictures were on display at a gallery in Fukuoka a month ago. All are in B&W; in almost all the pictures on display, Mishima is the only model. The house in the background of the picture below was actually the novelist's last residence before his death. The mold and cracking on the once-decadent baroque style front steps belies decay, the smell of death. These two images, in particular, have stuck in my mind–like something you don't want to remember but will because it makes you.