Thursday, November 18, 2010

Kodomo no Kuni

The Fireplace, 1932, by Takei Takeo

Isn't this lovely? It's from a great archive of illustrations from a forward-thinking Japanese children's magazine called Kodomo no Kuni, which was published from the 1920s through the 1940s. Takei Takeo was one of the magazine's illustrators. 

Here are a couple more by Takei:

Millet Straw Crafts, 1925

Origami, 1927

The magazine was full of pictures, stories, children's songs, dances, plays, and handicraft ideas for children. Editorial advisor Kurahashi Sozo, leading authority on children's education, believed strongly in the role of art in the pursuit of the ideal way of life. How can you not love that?

Thanks to Le Divan Fumoir Bohémien for the link to the Kodomo no Kuni site (I can't wait to check out more of her fascinating links!).

5 comments:

Relyn Lawson said...

Hello, my friend. Those are very, very cool graphics. It's Thanksgiving Day today and I wanted to stop by and wish all my friends the happiest day. I wanted to tell you that when I count my blessings, you will be among them. Thank you for adding to the richness of my experience in the blog world. Your blog is a wonderful place for me to visit. Thank you for that. Happy, happy Thanksgiving.

T.W said...

Such cool illustrations, never seen this artist before. Thanks for sharing!

Hausfrau said...

Thank you, thank you, Relyn!

Glad you liked this post, Metal_Minish! Thanks for stopping by.

Jennifer said...

These are beautiful. Wouldn't they be nice framed as prints in a child's room?

Hausfrau said...

Yes, Jennifer, I agree that they would make beautiful prints!

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