Designers take note: this book is a treasure trove of poster inspiration. Tadanori Yokoo is a master of the format. He got his start working with avant-garde theatre and continued to make some of his strongest work with these collaborators. He has occasionally been called Japan’s Andy Warhol, but I think his work from the same period stands apart. Their interest in process appears similar, using iconic imagery and vivid collages to convey complex or thought provoking ideas. Though, Yokoo’s sensibilities appear to be less concerned with any individual work standing by itself as “artwork”. You really get a sense of this by flipping through the 300 or so pages, each completely filled with solid work. The caption numbers broke 2,000. Prolific is an understatement.

I came across this book by chance while browsing the fine art section of Kagoshima University’s library. At ¥25,000 yen (currently around $280) new, and OOP, this book certainly isn’t cheap nor easy to come by. I was surprised at how nonchalant they were about checking out an art-book like this. I’ve posted images here since most people won’t have access to this otherwise:

Poster for book “The Wonders of Life on Earth”

“Illustrations for a book”

Poster for Kabuki Play “Chinzei Yumikari-zuki” by Yukio Mishima at the National Theatre

Poster for Theatrical Performance “Hangi Daito-kan” by Tatsumi Hijikata

Here are some more spreads of his earlier design and illustrations:

I’ll try to find some more gems on my next visit to the library.

I first came across this book on PinkTentacle, but didn’t look into it further until one of my school’s librarians noticed that I had one of the yokai drawings on my desk. Turns out our library had the first and second volumes available!

Here are some of my favorites:
(I tried to find information about each, but a few were obscure or had multiple names, so this might not be entirely accurate. Let me know if you catch any mistakes.)

Ittan-momen (いったんもめん)
This yokai is pretty well known from GeGeGe no Kitaro, floating alongside Kitaro as a recurring character.  I was surprised to learn that it is originally from Kagoshima, and specifically in Koyama which is about 25 minutes from my house. Pretty sure I’ve heard this guy flying around my apartment building at night…

Hosode

Minkirauwa

Tsurube-otoshi (釣瓶おとし)
This name translates to “falling well-bucket” and comes in a few incarnations, but is depicted here as disembodied heads.

Kawatengu (川天狗) / River Tengu
Apparently this is rarely seen, but known to create fireballs and annoy fishermen in the Tokyo area [ref].

Katakirauwa (片耳豚) / “One Ear Pig”
The spirits of baby pigs with one ear and no shadow. They can steal a person’s soul by running through their legs. [ref]

Hohonade (頬なで) / “Face Brusher” or “Cheek Brusher”

Notsugo (のつご)

Kuchirake-onna (口裂け女) / “Slit-mouth Woman”
This is a tragic character, from what I gather, who was once the beautiful wife (or mistress) of a samurai. She either cheated on him or made him furious with vanity, whichever was worse to a samurai,  and he cut her mouth from ear to ear. The story goes that she now roams the streets endlessly asking strangers if she is pretty. Answering “Yes” or “No” and you’ll likely end up with a similar slit-mouth, but a “so-so” or “I must be going” might get you off the hook. [ref]

Gashadokuro (がしゃどくろ)
A giant skeleton made from the collected bones of people who have died from starvation. You have to run quick or they’ll pluck you off the ground and bite your head off.

Dokuronokai or Me-kurabe / “Skull staring contest”
Legend goes that Kiyomori, the general in the late Heian period who started the first Samurai dominated government, began to have many other-worldly visions towards the end of his life. One of these fever-induced visions were the dokuronokai,

Baketafurugeta / “Old Ghost Sandal”

Sekiyou

Tenagababaa / aka Tenaga-jin
Part of the duo Ashinagatenaga: one with long arms, the other (Ashinaga-jin) with long legs. Found in Kyushu, the two work in a pair to catch fish… or in this case, small children.

Gannosei

Senpoku-kanpoku
This little guy is a frog with a human face “who guides the souls of the newly deceased to the graveyard.” [ref]

Ushiuchibou / “cow-whipping boy”
These creatures are all black and can never be seen clearly. They are known to sneak into stables at night and make, but they don’t whip the animals. They make small cuts in cows or horses to suck their blood. Unexplained deaths of livestock are usually blamed on the Ushiuchibou.

Kenmon / “the spirit of banyan”
Supposedly introduced from Java, these tree dwellers have been seen less after WWII due to loss of their habitat: Banyan trees.

Numagozen
In swamp areas, this temptress lures unsuspecting farmers close to the water then drags them in.

Wakasanoningyo / “Mermaid of Wakasa”
Prized and revered among fisherman as the rare “ningyo” (mermaid) meat gives you ridiculously long lifespan, both a blessing and a burden. Wakasa is a town located in Fukui prefecture.

Oppashoishi (おっぱしょい)
From Tokushima Prefecture in Shikoku, a giant rock was named after a deceased sumo wrestler. If you walked past at night it would call out to you “Oppasho Oppasho” which means something like “to become burdened with…”. Apparently the rock was too much of a “burden” to be carried by another wrestler and was dropped, splitting in half. Since then the voice has stopped calling out to people at night.

Oho

Nogi

Soragami
A ritual disciplinary demon that takes the form of a Tengu.

Batabata or Tatamitataki
A monster that makes a noise like a something dropping or beating on tatami mats in the dead of night.

Ragaramoyuurei / some kind of ghost (ゆうれい)

Gatagatabashi / “Rickety bridge”
The bridge which crosses over into the land of the dead. Sights and sounds of a scary old bridge at night.

Tsuchikorobi / “Earth Roller”
A cyclops creature that rolls around the forest in the form of a ball of soil.

Katawaguruma
Described as a woman riding around on a wheel of fire… Legend has it that some terrible old man ran over a beautiful lady with his one-wheeled cart (specific to the Edo period) carrying the first crop of the year. Now her spirit possesses it and likely brings bad luck to farmers.

Chuushinkozou (ちゅうしんこぞう)

Kasa-obake / “Paper umbrella ghost”
Kasa-obake are Tsukumogami, “artifact spirits” that animate hundred year old objects.

I posted scans here since I thought most people would never really have access to these books. Of course, all credit goes to the artist Shigeru Mizuki.

Ash fall in Kanoya which looks deceptively like snow in the sodium-vapor parking light

Joyfull with yellow ash bags on the curb waiting for collection.

Back when I arrived in July, I took some time to visit Subaru’s STi Gallery in Mitaka, Tokyo. The showroom itself is pretty sparse, but you do get a first hand view of one of Subaru’s debut rally cars, the 1993 Legacy RS driven by the late, great Colin McRae in Rally New Zealand.

So, the Legacy itself may not seem very special, but it’s driver and place in WRC history certainly are. On first glance you wouldn’t guess a car like this could put down 400ft/lbs. of torque… that’s nothing to scoff at. The basic elements of this drive-train paved the way for the Impreza based chassis in WRC. Also, it is important to note that the 93 Legacy introduced Subaru’s now legendary blue and yellow color scheme through a sponsorship deal with a cigarette brand “State Express 555″.

Some cool looking merch. On a side note: After I arrived in Kagoshima, I noticed employees at the local dealership wearing Subaru happi coats during a sale event. I asked to buy one but they politely declined.

I am always interested to see the older generations of Japanese cars, especially from the 60’s through the 90’s. There is a charm to these older designs that is lost on the newer models.

Point in case: The Subaru Leone 1600. This 4WD beast (note: not AWD… you pushed a button to active 4WD) cranked out 86hp and 89ft/lbs. of torque.

The gauge cluster actually looks very similar to early 90’s Impreza models.

Unrefined yet tasteful… A charming eye-sore…

The service bay offered a great glimpse at why this particular Subaru dealership is called one of, if not the best, in Japan.

An Engine rebuild in process.

Another random customer car.

So, this looks like an average STi, but we were told it is actually Petter Solberg’s personal car. I guess… for when he is staying in Japan? It was a bit confusing at the time, but the staff looked convincing.

Vital fluids: on tap from above.

Finally, two snapshots in the rain before running to catch the bus back to Shinjuku:

Some serious upgrades on this car despite its stock appearance. This customer surely doesn’t need the stopping power of AP Racing brakes on the public roads here…

So, this isn’t really a mecca for Subaru fans, but it was interesting just the same. I’d like to take a tour of the main factory in Ota, which is about two hours from Tokyo proper by train. If I’m in the area again when friends or family visit, it might be worth the trip.

Menko, めんこ, is a game very similar to Pogs (admit it, you owned some pogs). The cards (also called Menko) are made from thick cardboard and were originally found inside packs of cigarettes and candy. The objective of the game is to flip your opponent’s card over by tossing down one of your own. If you are successful, you collect their card and keep yours.

Tetsujin-28

Since cards are made from approximately the same material, winning requires a bit of technique over the sheer power. No “slammers”, though I can still remember my slammer. It looked like someone cut a circle out of a manhole cover. It was guaranteed to dent or bend the top few pogs. Still, because of the action of throwing the cards, it is difficult to find Menko cards in good condition.

I picked these cards up in Yokohama for around ¥50 – ¥100 each. I had to control myself… I could have easily walked out with the entire bin of cards, they were all so interesting. I picked up enough to start my small collection!

The back of each card is often as interesting as the front. Each card has a unique serial, but due to production I imagine there had to have been errors and duplicates out there. I really love the misaligned offset registration and poorly aligned die-cuts. True signs of traditional mass production. Beautiful.

Astro Boy

Batman

Roy Rogers ?!

Miscellaneous cards:

トップ ライト / “Top Right”

アトラス / “Atlas” class space shuttle

Now, to find an antique shop nearby that sells these… more soon!

May 6: Arrive at Narita, Tokyo overnight
May 7: JR to Kagoshima, Kyushu overnight
May 8-11: Ferry to Yakushima, explore Yakushima (!)
May 11: Ferry to Kagoshima, JR to Hiroshima
May 12: Hiroshima & Miyajima
May 13: Hiroshima, JR to Kyoto
May 13-16: Kyoto
May 16: JR to Mt. Fuji, stay overnight near Fuji-san
May 17: JR to Tokyo
May 17-19: Tokyo (revised to avoid Nikko weekend tourists
May 19: JR to Nikko
May 19-21: Nikko
May 21: JR to Tokyo
May 22: Tokyo