KAWAKAMI Sumio, artist — Jimbutsu Iroha Egeresu

1951. KAWAKAMI Sumio, artist JIMBUTSU IROHA EGERESU Tokyo: Ryu^seikaku, Sho^wa 26 [1951]. 18.5 x 13.2 cm. Reduced offset version of the original edition done in woodcut in 1935. Printed boards in a printed clamshell publisher's box. One of 1000 copies, signed by Kawakami. Western bound. The title of this book could roughly be translated as "an illustrated alphabet of personalities." 26 full page b+w woodcut vignettes, from Admiral to Zeus, accompany a short English and Japanese description on each facing page. A fascinating slice of the Meiji life of Japan in pictures, an era Kawakami returned to again and again in his art. Very clean. An enjoyable work with Kawakami's usual verve. .