エ藝[Kougei] 96, the art of Kawakami Sumio

[Tokyo: Nihon Mingei Kyokai, 1938]. Edition limited to 1000 copies, 8vo, pp. [4], 63, [9] (ads), plus two stencil illustrations by Kawakami and 17 laid in plates of Kawakami's work; original printed dust jacket, also illustrated by Kawakami. Some discoloration of title from the ink, dust jacket spine with small splits at ends, old price label on lower jacket. Very good. An important art journal run by Yanagi Souetsu, one of the fathers of the Mingei (folk art) movement. Kawakami Sumio in many ways embodied the sort of artist that Yanagi sought to support. He was a part-time artist, with a career as an English teacher, and only received mentorship from the modernist Goda Kiyoshi as a youth. His artistic focus was primarily on the influence of Western contact on Japan, and the illustrations in this issue reflect that, with woodcuts and stencils of western people clothes, books, watches, and scenes. His prints have been placed in a number of museums, and his work is said to have inspired the modern printer Munakata to go into woodblock. Item #55652

Price: $325.00