Japanese Fairy Tale Series No. 7: The Old Man and the Devils 瘤取

Item #90875

Japanese Fairy Tale Series No. 7: The Old Man and the Devils 瘤取 [Kobutori]. [Doctor Hepburn]ドクトルヘボン, translator. Tokyo. Meiji 19 [1886]. 18.2 x 12.2cm small book, bound Japanese style, fukuro-toji opens Western style. [9] cho with decorated wrappers in color, story ends on inside rear wrapper. Colophon in Japanese on the inside front wrapper gives the date Meiji 19 [1886]. Lively, full-color double-page and single-page original woodblock prints with text in English. Interestingly, the penultimate and final pages of text are reversed. Translated by Dr. James Curtis Hepburn, noted in colophon as ドクトルヘボン [Doctor Hepburn], a well-known scholar and missionary of the time who was stationed with his wife in Yokohama. He later became the president of Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. This is his single contribution to the Hasegawa publishing library.

The Japanese title refers to the removal of the lump (kobu 瘤) on the face of an old man who falls asleep in the woods and awakes to a strange assembly of demons of all colors and shapes. Throwing caution to the wind he joins them and his reward is the removal of his lump. A neighbor with a similar lump tries to dance his way into the devils’ good favor, but his dancing skills are subpar and he is not met with the same good luck.

Slight chipping at corners with a small corner at top left front edge missing and front wrapper/ first cho is split. Name handwritten in pencil on top margin of first page of text. Colors and printing are good. An early, plain paper version of this fairy tale. Minami Saegicho address 南佐柄木町.

Price: $185.00