A beautiful copy of one of Kawakami Sumio’s Wartime books, containing an original drawing of a Western merchant.
The subject of this book, Goshuisen (or simply shuisen) refers to the ‘Red Seal Ships’. These were Japanese merchant ships that were sanctioned by the Tokugawa shogunate in the very early days of the Edo period, c.1603-1635. The ‘red seal’ refers to the official government seal that was stamped on permit documents which allowed these ships to other countries for trade purposes. Kawakami had a particular fascination with the early interactions between Japanese and European people, and the cultural intermingling that took place before such interactions were strictly limited. The present book shows goods imported from European traders, Japanese Christians as well as the Red Seal Ships themselves. Kawakami has designed mock-red seals as a nod to these historical documents.
This book was made during WWII, while Kawakami was still in his hometown in Utsunomiya (Tochigi prefecture). He had printed this book in an edition of 140 copies which contain a printed slip on the front paste-down with the limitation number stated. The present copy does not contain this slip, but a handwritten note by Kawakami at the back which reads Roman-do ban ‘Roman-do edition’. The Roman-do was a small art gallery and tea room near to Utsunomiya station, with whom Kawakami had worked collaboratively to sell books and prints. Though it no longer exists, the Roman-do had a particular connection to contemporary Mingei artists.
The present copy was sold through the Roman-do and contains a unique watercolour drawing of a Nanban-jin ‘Southern Barbarian’, which was the name given to Western visitors to Japan in the early modern period. It is particularly unusual to find original watercolours in Kawakami’s books.
Very rare. No copies in OCLC.
