Maggs Bros.

This book was published to commemorate the 50th day of the death of the poet Kitahara Hakushu (1885-1942) a famous author and tanka poet. He lived in the Yanagawa district of Fukuoka, famous for its numerous canals, and the present book celebrates his poetry alongside images of the town. The book was not for sale and it belongs to the category of isakushu (posthumous book). It was edited by the younger brother of the poet, Kitahara Takeo, who was the director of the ARS publishing house, and this explains that the book was published at all in 1943. The photographer Tanaka Zentoku (1903-1963) was born in Fukuoka where he became an elementary school teacher. It was during a trip to Yokohama that he met the author Yoda Junichi (1905-1997) who introduced him to Kitahara. In 1935 Tanaka became the chief of the literature and arts section at the Kyushu Nippo newspaper and took up photography as a hobby. Much care has been taken in pairing the images on the page. Book-design by Onchi Koshiro.