"TADANORI YOKOO - Barakei: Ordeal by Roses", Japanese Contemporary Art Poster, Original Silk Screen 2007, Ultra Rare, Size (c.73 x 103cm)

*Please note the price is fixed for this item. It is not included in any of our periodic sales (e.g. Black Friday)!*

This is an original Japanese silk screen poster printed in the 2007. This poster is ultra rare and is displayed in the world`s most prestigious galleries such as MoMA in New York City. It is very difficult / almost impossible to find in any condition. This print is in mint condition.

M + Gallery Hong Kong - https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/collection/objects/beams-2016166/

This is an extraordinarily rare limited-edition B1-size silkscreen print created in 2007 by the legendary Japanese artist Tadanori Yokoo, based on the renowned photographic series Barakei (“Ordeal by Roses”) by Eikoh Hosoe, featuring the iconic writer and cultural figure Yukio Mishima.

The composition boldly fuses Hosoe’s stark black-and-white photography of Mishima—here shown gripping a large hammer between his teeth—with Yokoo’s surrealist and psychedelic aesthetic. Encircling the central image are five reclining nude male figures, rendered in flat, illustrative style and adorned with vibrant red roses, symbolizing beauty, eroticism, and martyrdom. The setting hints at a tiled pool or temple, with mosaic-like textures and dreamlike sunset tones. The overall visual language is erotic, mythic, and spiritually intense—fitting for Mishima’s persona.

The upper portion bears the title and dedication in Japanese calligraphy, set against a burning orange horizon, with giant gold footprints above—a possible nod to Mishima’s physical and metaphorical imprint. Yokoo personally used his own feet to stamp on each poster, making every piece different, unique and truly one-of-a-kind.

• Photograph by: Eikoh Hosoe

• Art by: Tadanori Yokoo

• Publisher: Okabe Print Editions

• Edition: Hand-numbered 147/150

• Signed on reverse: Both Yokoo and Hosoe have personally signed the reverse of this print—an exceptionally rare occurrence.

Tadanori Yokoo and Yukio Mishima shared a profound creative relationship during the 1960s. Both men were iconoclasts of post-war Japan: Mishima, with his fierce nationalism and fascination with death; Yokoo, with his pop-art-infused visual rebellion against modernity. Yokoo designed stage sets and book covers for Mishima, and their collaborations defined an era of avant-garde Japanese aesthetics. This poster is a deeply personal homage—a visual love letter from one artist to another.

This poster is ultra-rare:

• Produced in an extremely limited edition of just 150 prints

• Never reprinted, and few copies surface publicly

• Signed by both creators—an almost unheard-of feature

• In near mint condition, showing only the most minimal handling or age-related signs

This is not just a collectible—it is a museum-grade piece reflecting the intersection of three titans: Mishima, Hosoe, and Yokoo. A cornerstone for any serious collector of Japanese avant-garde, photography, or 20th-century art history.

Japan Poster Shop has acquired a substantial and unique collection of original Tadanori Yokoo posters from one of the most prolific collectors in Japan. This individual has a very colorful life story, having invested and dedicated many decades to his love for Tadanori Yokoo`s vibrant designs.

In today's world, when advanced reproduction techniques and printing methods have been developed, silkscreen printing can be said to be an extremely primitive and imperfect printing method. However, it is precisely because of this primitive imperfection that silkscreen printing has been highly developed.

It is a medium that retains a handcrafted, intimate feel like woodblock prints or lithographs, not found in offset or primary color printing, which are more common printing methods. Such handcrafted printing methods are themselves subcultural, and are therefore suitable as a means of printing posters for subcultural groups, in the sense that the medium is the message.

Please refer to the imagery (both front and back) as this is the exact poster that is for sale. 

It is over 18 years old!

It is not a reproduction or a reprint.

Certificate of Authenticity included.