Item #901254 Tales of Days Gone By. Naoko Matsubara, Charles De Wolf, Woodcuts.
Tales of Days Gone By

Tales of Days Gone By

Tokyo: ALIS (Arts & Literature International Service), 2003.
Woodcuts by Naoko Matsubara. First Edition. Hardcover.

A selection of 17 stories from Konjaku Monogatari-shu, a 12th century collection of more than 1000 Japanese folktales. Konjaku, like the more famous The Tale of Genji, looks back to “days gone by”, yet it differs from the grand court novel in its remarkably broad depiction of Japanese society. This selection portrays the period and the social atmosphere with a rich variety of characters: emperors, priests, wrestlers, women, fishermen, animals, demons and deities. The stories are divided into three categories: tales of women, tales of wonder and tales of Buddhism. Chosen and illustrated by Naoko Matsubara and designed by his son Yoshiki Waterhouse. Translator Charles De Wolf has provided endnotes and brief annotations for the stories.

Item #901254
ISBN: 490036200X

11-3/4 x 9”, white cloth, red endpapers, 62pp, 2 maps, fully illus. with Matsubara’s colorful woodcuts, endnotes, annotations, artist’s afterword, editor’s postscript.

Bumping to corners, else fine in dust wrapper and protective mylar - a bright, clean, tight copy lacking owner’s marks. Near fine overall.

Price: $75.00