White Birch on Fire-Crackle Mountain

Covers and illustrations by Kishida Ryūsei, c. 1917–22 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1918 These scans are courtesy of Jimoto and his always-inspiring site Dassaishooku. You can read about Kishida Ryūsei (1891–1929) on wikipedia and at the Hiroshima Museum of Art. Ryūsei is well-known for his portraits of his daughter (Reiko), but I had not seen these exquisite book illustrations until Dassaishooku's posts. The first eight images are his covers for Shirakaba ("White Birch"), the literary journal of the Shirakaba-ha (“White Birch School”). From Brittanica:The members of this group...rejected the Confucian worldview and the naturalism of the earlier generation and had little patience with Japanese traditions. Shirakaba was perhaps the most identifiable means by which they expressed their eagerness for new styles of expression. The visual artists among them were especially interested in German Expressionism, Post-Impressionism, and other avant-garde movements of the West. All worked to spread the ideologies of individualism, idealism, and humanitarianism—largely derived from the writings of Leo Tolstoy—throughout Japanese society. The activities of the Shirakaba-ha included not only publication of the journal but art exhibitions and even social experiments, such as the Atarashiki Mura (“New Village”) movement, a utopian community designed to incorporate artistic activities into the everyday physical labour required of its inhabitants. Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1918 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1919 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1919 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1919 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1920 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1921 Cover by Kishida Ryūsei for Shirakaba, 1922 The following images are Ryūsei's illustrations for a retelling of a Japanese myth by White Birch Society member Saneatsu Mushanokōji. From wikipedia:Kachi-kachi Yama (かちかち山?, kachi-kachi being an onomatopoeia of the sound a fire makes and yama meaning "mountain", roughly translates to "Fire-Crackle Mountain"), also known as Kachi-Kachi Mountain and The Farmer and the Badger, is a Japanese folktale in which a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) is the villain, rather than the more usual boisterous, well-endowed alcoholic. Also see this Japanese page about the book. It's hard not to love this rabbit. Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Fire-Crackle Mountain," 1917 Book binding illustration by Kishida Ryūsei, 1917 And to close, a couple illustrations from Saneatsu Mushanokōji's retelling of the myth "Hanasaka Jiisan." Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Hanasaka Jiisan," 1917 Illustration by Kishida Ryūsei for "Hanasaka Jiisan," 1917 I am blown away by these illustrations and I can't thank Dassaishooku enough for sharing them. See all posts from Japan on 50 Watts This post first appeared on March 18, 2015 on 50 Watts