![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1VNDFKVFmrQI4LHKHU2ByL9odvp9KiYjQOdkOxMBNbWCzCpFKwldwv9HONYMWod38aR0xO52pk555MC6hgRN7OmGcojU_uJwHxbpynBo3KgmAvgPBGTQ-u9ZZjyDjWZLaxLoTEZ3Zzdzm/s400/soseki1.jpg)
..and the cover of Yukio Mishima's uneasily compelling Thirst for Love, from Vintage Classics UK next year.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik49FMnJmvvBw1ytztrS1CwWjL5V21bDxH-5z_arvzq7fTtt3mmIP83vtc7PPkGC-aBF4AXb2pexLZKzHJfKaelhiOK73vazPE00LjoLoD5VFddiJc6cYBRQsrxIYhcqS9r9VD_gZBWsVC/s400/mishima1.jpg)
The Sōseki cover is actually not obscured by that leaf pattern as the above scan suggests: it's done with spot varnish, so is visible only when the light hits the cover at a certain angle. (Though the Vintage does have one advantage: that 'New Translation' thing on the Penguin cover is printed on, not a removable sticker.)
The original image is Hashiguchi Goyô's woodblock print 'A Beauty in a Black Kimono with White Hanabashi Patterns Seated Before a Mirror'.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RJKHPZt7EDUUaprgbuJVRNO3urqwJDQYcdCU-OsU0rOhASFjLIJ6I2utsDeG6czLuNuTafCtQzaqygb8E3h2nsLQHqpuUWcLw4-Fw-_J2YNK299l2VE53cE5aBc3OsMFK9dgaKgEHomp/s400/image005.jpg)
It's an appropriate artistic choice for the Sōseki, as Goyô worked with him on his peculiar comic 'novel, 'I Am A Cat'.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CtU_exAn3xoIKmLGKuXIidQjy0P8rZaSckQ1MCMNAL2SHzcMq_hq7o8YipC8n5L8sVAuIVGD0TKJmXXwE3XtRxzk29od1RLetEp-6Mt1SppkrI8OkT2jPhd2roiBOqY3qW0aWLrUUlzN/s400/iamacat.jpg)
I actually saw 'A Beauty in a Black Kimono with White Hanabashi Patterns Seated Before a Mirror' in Sydney last year, as part of an ehibition called 'Taishô Chic': a fascinating but small collection of Art Deco/Jazz Age Japanese artworks full of images of kimonos, Rolls Royces, cocktails and bright red lipstick. A characterisitic sample from that show is Kiyoshi Kobayakawa's 'Tipsy':
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhT_OQkuZ7i_a9A3i7VLHWffsWEcNOTk44mUglWBStHR_WODguib6rQj28XL4EwUsGMVExASybJBIWzns-UmAxg4zkDtSJZ9mcRgyYnx6lX4pAT7WLjSt5fghRhvZpY02ollp1MxBxf5F/s400/Tipsy.jpg)
Just to round things out, here's some more work by Goyô.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0k5eHSqtMxOjcQyVxAbGRJMRz3DNht8-63hPHWQEZgWC9iHboksc-xdLs5EUBFgCdwNtCeV-rNvHMAdMbIYdk6RJYYRY4eyAYUkTJr1RnusTKO5Faj0D3Mc3-htB1DCW0nh5JIpcikxl/s400/combing+the+hair.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjvkotnPTQ-A5hh6KB2EvkOGc6HrrkjmpBRsKi7T_dAfGkP8ho9k8SfO_hj9yMTCaiXYwWoJuKpsJ-Jc_jBkJRhp3M32OQCjgrQ4UeVqOdmWgz_ZjJ4btFVFcYcvviQ1ZM3rQtsMxV8Z6W/s400/hot+spring+hotel.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmzcy5SSm4bumqqbL9wGD7rn2UUbyOkp_K0faTpzUO43eCTY7DT9aJvWUmXuFbpJ68UElJnz6pJc5iD0TlqTP8lQNcfAKVdlvxHjawV4gZrFxvaKG25krbOSszxNbpEfC1Ih_KtESgnGv/s400/woman+after+bath.jpg)
And if you want a song stuck in your head, try irresistably chirpy Japanese all-girl punk-rock legends Shonen Knife's 'I Am A Cat'.
UPDATE: 'A Beauty in a Black Kimono with White Hanabashi Patterns Seated Before a Mirror' spotted on another cover, this time from France...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpxqO0j1rV_4Mt8CIkFQFX1TxoqSb16ihPbg3K3feUmrw-JqutWQwQwpap9fRTQoEEWA0jxEfrPIk4OoV5MEegU3D5s6AgpshefDHkPCY6j1Ii7DGDmlITsbVTa2oky6JP-QLL0kIzr8/s400/french.jpg)