Kikan KEN No.2 – Grudge and Madness

The second issue of KEN, a legendary independent quarterly magazine published in just three issues between 1970 and 1971 by Shomei Tomatsu’s own publishing house, Shaken.

This issue takes on the theme of “Grudge and Madness” and is packed with a wide range of expressions―photographs, texts, and testimonies―charged with an even darker and more violent emotional force than the first issue, which fiercely criticised Expo ’70 in Osaka. The magazine exudes an overwhelming intensity that has the potential to consume the reader entirely.

Though primarily text-based, KEN is known for its exceptionally high-quality photographic features. This issue features gravure portfolios by Masatoshi Naito and Daido Moriyama, showcasing their dense blacks with striking beauty that rivals any photobook. Essays and writings by Shomei Tomatsu, Nobuyoshi Araki, and Takuma Nakahira further enrich this rare and invaluable document of the Japanese underground in the early 1970s.

Selected Contents:
Lotus Sutra: Fumon Chapter Verse – Juro Kara
Let Grudge Devour Concept – Goichi Matsunaga
Grudge and Expression―Ichiro Murakami
The Origins of Fiction―Interview with Sideshow Master Iwakichi Nishimura
The Joy of Blossoming Together: The Life of a Love Hotel Worker – Koji Shimokawa
The Scarlet Peony of Tattoo―Yozo Tanaka
A Modern Hyakki Yagyo Picture Scroll―Shiro Tatsumi, Toshio Saeki, Seizo Tashima, Tsunehisa Kimura
Reports from Summer 1970―Hideo Osabe (Aomori), Shomei Tomatsu (Tokyo), Osamu Iwakata (Hiroshima), Baiichi Kawamitsu (Okinawa)
Monologues by Masaaki Hirai, Masatoshi Naito, Shinsuke Ogawa, Tsunehisa Kimura, and Daido Moriyama
Gravure – Masatoshi Naito, Daido Moriyama
KEN Extra Features – Ichiro Cho (Metamorphosis), Nobuyoshi Araki (“What’s Making You Angry Right Now?”), Tetsuo Amano (on voyeurism and female objectification), Ryuji Sawada (Death of a TV Director), Tatsumi Hijikata (Dancing 'Pedestrian Paradise')
That’s Why I... – Nagisa Oshima
Dialogue: Twin-Headed Serpents – Takuma Nakahira + Masao Matsuda
Afterword
Cover & Illustrations: Shiro Tatsumi
Photographs: Shomei Tomatsu, Masatoshi Naito, Hirofumi Iyomoto

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Title: Kikan KEN No.2 – Grudge and Madness
Artist: Various
Publisher: Shaken (Shomei Tomatsu), 1970
Format: Softcover
Size: 227 × 188 mm
Pages: 158 pages
Language: Japanese
Edition: First edition
Price: ¥22,000 (tax included)

Condition: Very Good―Minor age-related toning and spotting, but no damage. Overall, it is in excellent condition.