Ehon Don Kihote [Don Quixote Illustrated]

Title

Ehon Don Kihote [Don Quixote Illustrated]

Creator

Date

1936

Format

Description

Ehon Don Kihōte (Don Quixote Illustrated) No. 68 of a limited editon of 75 copies, Kotyo: Hyūga-za, 1936, woodblock pring on washi, hand-colored, 29x20.5 cm, Rare Collection

Ehon Don Kihōte is one of the masterpieces that Serizawa Kēsuke created. Hamilton Library's copy is number sixty-eight of the original limited edition of seventy-five books created in 1936. Serizawa was a textile designer and illustrator, who invented a new paper dying technique called "Kataezome," which was derived from a traditional Okinawan dyeing method, "bingata ." Serizawa was designated as one of its Living National Treasures by the Japanese government in 1956 for this indigenous art. There is an interesting tale behind the creation of Ehon Don Kihōte. An American collector of different versions of Cervantes Saavedra's Don Quixote asked Yanagi Muneyoshi, a well-known art historian and leader of the Japanese folk-craft movement, to locate Japanese versions. No Japanese version was found. Therefore, Yanagi decided to create one and commissioned the task to Serizawa. The Japanese "Don Quixote" looks like a samurai warrior and dashes toward a "watermill" not a windmill. Each book was carefully created by hand. The first twenty-five books were sent to the American collector residing in Boston and the rest were sold commercially. It is said that the American collector was so moved and fell in love with Serizawa's version of this Spanish story.

Is Part Of

Asia - Japan Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

Page Location

115