{"product_id":"sakura-no-ki-no-shita-ni-wa-beneath-qzwv2x1x","title":"Sakura no ki no shita ni wa [Beneath the Cherry Trees]","description":"\u003cp\u003eA limited, privately printed edition of \u003cem\u003eBeneath the Cherry Trees\u003c\/em\u003e by Kajii Motojiro (1901-1932). The artist Sekino Junichiro (1914-1988) illustrated four plates for this book, two of which are printed in woodblock, the other two in copperplate etching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 1931, Kajii’s story opens with the famous first line, \u003cem\u003eSakura no ki no shita ni wa shitai ga umatte iru!\u003c\/em\u003e – “There are dead bodies buried beneath the cherry trees!”. Cherry blossom season in Japan usually invites celebrations and merry viewing parties, but in Kajii’s imbues this image with a deep sense of melancholia and a certain sinisterness. Written in the first person, the narrator paints a visceral image of cherry trees feeding off the decomposing corpses of various creatures that lie underneath, before gazing back out onto the unsuspecting crowd who are enjoying the view above.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a highly skilled printmaker, Sekino was able to create four very different plates to accompany Kajii’s story. The book opens with an upward view of cherry blossom, through which we see a distant horizon. This might be a depiction of the Izu peninsula, where Kajii wrote the story. The following images take a much darker tone, with stylised images of the corpses and what happens under the trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRare. Only 1 copy in OCLC (The Met).\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48833684340893,"sku":"261703","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/261703_04.jpg?v=1787573732","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/sakura-no-ki-no-shita-ni-wa-beneath-qzwv2x1x","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}