The first publication by Yanase Takashi, predating his legendary character Anpanman by 15 years. The King of Beer’s face is quite similar to Anpanman’s, with soft features and a distinctly round nose.
Yanase Takashi (1919-2013) was one of the most popular manga artists of the 20th century as well as a writer, an illustrator and a poet. Having graduated from Tokyo School of Arts and Crafts (Tokyo kodo kogei gakko), he was drafted into the army in 1941 and posted to China. Towards the end of the war he faced starvation and dreamt about eating anpan, a popular sweet red bean pastry. This experience inspired the hugely successful superhero series Anpanman, which he continued to produce until his death. With over 80million volumes sold, Anpanman became one of the highest grossing media franchises in the world. From 2000 to 2012 Yanase became chairman of the Japan Cartoonists Association (Nihon Mangaka Kyokai).
After the War, Yanase worked as a graphic designer at Mitsukoshi department store, a position he left in order to become a freelance designer. In 1953 he started producing a series of adverts for Nippon Beer (renamed Sapporo Beer) which were printed in newspapers and on posters. Yanase published this collection privately in order to earn some extra money and get more work. On the penultimate page he provides a brief summary of his career (soldier, department store employee, newspaper reporter, manga artist). On the previous page which includes a photographic portrait he relates the Beer King’s impression when he first sees the book:
‘Today, I saw the collection for the first time. I was so disappointed I felt faint, and a sharp pain shot through my liver. “What is this? This book is terrible; it looks just like…” But I stopped myself. Looking at the face of this kind, timid, and thoroughly unremarkable cartoonist, I found I could no longer bring myself to be harsh. I grasped his trembling hand and said, “It’s fine, Yanase—I enjoyed it. Don’t look so downcast.“’
The book was sold for 300 yen and is regarded as Yanase’s first publication. The format and the design are highly unconventional; when pulling the book from its slipcase, one expects to read it horizontally. However, the text and the comics are in fact arranged horizontally forcing the reader to turn the book anti-clockwise by 90**°**. There is a clever effect with the holes in the slip case which make the King of Beer’s eyes shift from side to side when the book is pulled out.
Very rare. Only one copy in OCLC.
