Nos. 1-120 (all published). Numerous tipped-in photographic illus., fabric swatches, paper samples, etc. Decorative vignettes in all vols. Uniform 8vo, each with a unique decorated cover made of textiles or handmade paper, many of which are stencil-dyed or hand-painted. Tokyo: Jurakusha 聚楽社 (nos. 1-50); Nihon Mingei Kyōkai 日本民藝協会 (nos. 51-114, 118-20); Seibunsha 靖文社 (nos. 115-17), 1931-51.

A rare complete set of all 120 issues of this magnificent journal championing Japanese folk art; every issue is a sophisticated homage to its subject, with contributions by artisans, designers, and tastemakers, such as Serizawa Keisuke (1895-1984), Hamada Shōji (1894-1978), Suzuki Shigeō (1914-2003), Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963), Kawai Kanjirō (1890-1966), and founder Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889-1961). All aspects of the journal’s design were carefully considered, from the selection of handmade paper, inclusion of fabric swatches and samples, elaborate decoration of the covers and pages within, etc. Although there were interruptions in the final years of World War II, the journal continued for 20 years; after its conclusion in January 1951, it merged with a similarly minded periodical. Our set is remarkably well preserved, with just a few numbers that have rubbed spines or slightly fraying textile covers. The 120 volumes comprise one of 20th-century Japan’s iconic creations and offer unparalleled documentation of Japan’s and East Asia’s folk arts. The number of North American institutions owning full runs of this journal can be counted on one hand; there are also several confusing and somewhat misleading catalogue entries in WorldCat.

Yanagi (who later went by Sōetsu) is considered the founder of the Japanese Folk Craft Movement. Inspired by extensive travels around Korea and Japan in search of pottery, woodwork, lacquerware, and textiles by local craftspeople, he formulated a theory for the appreciation of handicrafts. This was synthesized into the term mingei 民藝, a fusion of the terms minshu-teki (belonging to everyday people) and kōgei (craft). Kōgei was part of Yanagi’s tireless efforts to acknowledge and preserve traditions swiftly disappearing because of Japan’s industrialization.

“The general public needed to be educated in the beauty of Japanese crafts. Yanagi set about propagating his views in a series of articles, books and lectures, and his first complete work Kōgei no Michi (The Way of Crafts) was published in 1928. In 1931, he started a magazine Kōgei (Crafts,) in which he, and a close circle of friends who thought like him, were able to air their views. The Folk Craft Movement, as such, really began with publication of this magazine, and the number of Yanagi’s followers increased considerably as a result of their reading its contents.”–Brian D. Moeran, “Yanagi Muneyoshi and the Japanese Folk Craft Movement,” Asian Folklore Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1 (1981), p. 89.

Issues were devoted to a vast range of practices under the umbrella of East Asian folk art. Here is a small sample: kanban (shop signs); Kyushu pottery; Korean ceramics; teapots; religious idols; stencil-dyeing by Serizawa; slipware revived by Bernard Leach and Hamada; lacquerware; baskets; washi paper from around Japan; fabrics from the regions of Japan; funa dansu (sea chests); Chinese calligraphy; farmhouse architecture; Korean paper & textile design; global book arts; calligraphy implements; dyed fabrics from Okinawa; confectionary molds; Munakata Shiko; doro-e; straw raincoats; Ryukyu rubbings; Yanagi’s collection of textiles; Japanese clocks; Chinese shadow puppetry; southern Chinese ceramics; woodblock prints; Ainu appliqués; Ainu textiles & embroidery; Ainu woodworking; Western medieval religious art; Korean paper; wooden ceremonial masks; Okinawan pottery; etc., etc.

500 copies of the inaugural issue were produced (ours is no. 56); it is the only numbered edition. The rest of the issues were printed in editions of 500-1100. For much of its existence, the journal was available exclusively to subscribers, yet towards the end, due to financial challenges, it became available by mail order. Nos. 53, 57, and 59 are bilingual in Japanese and English (with abridged translations).

It is impossible to adequately convey the elegance of every issue; therefore we have limited ourselves to the close examination of six exemplary volumes, highlighting their excellence as craft objects themselves, replete with designs and contributions by luminaries of the time:

–No. 24: Woven cotton covers from Inaba province; title-page and vignettes after Ryukyu katagami (stencils); six ornate fabric swatches by Serizawa tipped-in; essays on Serizawa by Yanagi and his circle. Printed on handmade paper from Izumo province.

–No. 44: Woven yasugi-ori from Shimane Prefecture; title-page and index vignettes by Serizawa; five text illus. designed by Eric Gill; 10 photographic images (several in color) comparing Western & Japanese books; essays on bookbinding, book design, William Morris and the Kelmscott Press, and Gill. Printed on paper from Ichiyama in Iwami province.

–No. 53: Woven and patterned kudzu-fiber covers from Enshū province with painted bilingual title strips; frontispiece, title-page, and vignettes designed by Serizawa; 12 tipped-in photographic images (several color-tinted) of pottery and katazome (stencil-dyed) motifs; three texts originally composed by potter Bernard Leach (1887-1979), translated into Japanese. Printed on fine handmade paper from Karasuyama in Yashū province.

–No. 67: Katazome fabric covers designed by Serizawa; title-page & vignette text illustrations by Munakata Shikō (1903-75); 12 tipped-in photographic images (three of which are tinted) depicting Japanese and Korean tea bowls, and essays by Yanagi, the first comparing tea bowls of the two countries, a second about Hon’ami Kōetsu, who inspired the Rinpa school. Printed on fine handmade paper from Ogawa in Bushū province.

–No. 90: Covers exquisitely decorated with urushi (lacquer) by Suzuki; vignettes reproducing Chinese shadow puppets; ca. 42 photographic images of these puppets (four in color); articles on the art of shadow puppets; and one fabric specimen as part of an ad. Printed on fine handmade paper from Karasuyama in Yashū province.

-No. 100: Covers painted with urushi designed by Suzuki; title-page and vignettes by Serizawa; 24 black & white photographic illus., and seven in color documenting Ryukyu architecture, including Shuri castle, and Ryukyu ceramics and textiles; and a color woodblock-printed folding map of Okinawa; articles on Ryukyu history, culture, arts & crafts, etc. Printed on handmade paper from Karasuyama in Yashū province.

This complete run is in fine condition. The upper wrapper of no. 81 is detached.

Price: $29,500.00

Item ID: 11206