CHUO BIJUTSU KYOKAI [CENTRAL ART ASSOCIATION].
Nikuhitsu manga kenkoku 2500-nenshi zue [Illustrated History of the 2500th Anniversary of the Founding of Japan in original cartoons].
2500 years of Japanese history, illustrated by over two dozen artists
CHUO BIJUTSU KYOKAI [CENTRAL ART ASSOCIATION].
Nikuhitsu manga kenkoku 2500-nenshi zue [Illustrated History of the 2500th Anniversary of the Founding of Japan in original cartoons].
A beautifully humorous and irreverent look at 2500 years of Japanese history by over two dozen members of the Central Art Association.
This was a collective that included some of the most outstanding cartoonists of the first half of the 20th century, incl. Kitazawa Rakuten (aka. the father of Modern Manga), Okamoto Ippei, Nakamura Fusetsu, Hozumi Iten, Morishima Chozo, and Kobayashi Katsumi. Opening with the dance of the foundation myth involving the gods Izanagi and Izanami creating the Japanese islands and closing with the ritual suicide of members of the White Tiger Unit (Byakkotai) on Iimori Hill during the Boshin War (1868-69), this is a fascinating catalogue of the characters and events that shaped Japanese history prior to the Meiji Restoration: Genji, Shotoku Taishi, Tobo Sojo, Minamoto Yoritomo, Tokugawa Ieyasu, St. Xavier are interspersed with images of Todaiji, Byodo-in, Ginkakuji, Kinkakuji, the Dutch in Nagasaki, arrival of Perry’s Black ships, etc. Each plate is hand-painted, making every set slightly different in its brushwork. There is no information in the book about the number of copies that were produced, but estimates range from between 50-100 copies.
Very rare. Only one set in OCLC. (National Library of Australia).
