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Tsuruta Gorō (Japanese, 1890-1969) and Hoshino Suiri (Japanese, 1881-1937).

Kokkei Sugoroku U No Ji Kanmuri Nai-Nai Zukushi [Humorous Sugoroku Beginning With “U” And Ending With “-Nai”]

1915. Colour printed sugoroku game sheet with Japanese text, 54 x 80cm. Old folds, tears, stains and small marginal losses visible. Linen-backed.

Against a brilliant red ground, fifteen illustrated panels show women, children, animals and comic incidents framed by plum blossoms and New Year imagery. The sheet is “滑稽双六 卯の字冠りないないづくし”, issued as the January 1915 New Year supplement to the girls’ magazine Shōjo no Tomo. Museum records identify Tsuruta Gorō as illustrator and Hoshino Suiri as the designer of its verbal conceit: each panel’s sentence begins with the sound “u” and ends with “nai”. That wordplay turns the conventional sugoroku format into a combined language game, humorous picture sheet and magazine gift. The varied scenes—cards, bamboo, domestic episodes and small mishaps—offer a lively cross-section of popular visual culture aimed at young female readers in early Taishō-period Japan.
Item #CL210-97

Price (AUD): $1,100.00  other currencies