posted on 28 Mar 2020

Issun-Bōshi trad. illustrated and retold by Icinori

One of my great fantasy wishes in terms of books would be to stumble on a batch of original Japanese children’s books from the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century. They are insanely expensive and fragile and unless I’m astonishingly lucky I’m unlikely to see them outside of a glass case in a library collection.

The originals are not only things of beauty in terms of the artwork but are often built around strange and disturbing storylines that are often as brutal and uncompromising as the Grimm’s European fairy tale collections. So I’m probably going to have to make do with either modern day reprints (good but not the real deal) or new interpretations of the traditional tales. Issun-Bōshi is one of the new generation of reinterpretations which has been put together by the team of R. Urwiller & Mayumi Otero who work under the collective name of Icinori.

Issun-Bōshi is the Japanese version of the European Tale of Tom Thumb – but a Tom Thumb in a completely alien world. The publisher, Little Gestalten, provides a very useful précis of the classic storyline:

“This classic Japanese fairy tale tells the story of Issun Boshi, the tiny son of an old, long childless couple. Tiny and brave--these are the two most striking characteristics of Issun Boshi. His mother had longed to have a child for so many years that she finally added "even if it is a very small one" to her wish. When the elderly couple did in fact bear a son, he turned out to be only one inch high. He was thus called Issun Boshi, Japanese for one-inch boy. Although his parents raised him very lovingly, Issun Boshi realized one day that he would not grow any taller. He then left his home to set off on a journey to find his place in the world. Because he saw himself as a swordfighter, a samurai, he made sure to take along the right equipment: a needle was his sword, a soup bowl was his boat, and a chopstick was its rudder. As in any proper fairy tale, Issun Boshi is tested in several adventures. He handles himself so bravely that, in the end, he is rewarded with just the right princess.”

But to be honest, the real appeal of the book is the fabulous artwork that reminded me at times of some of Edward Bawden’s book illustration, especially in the choice of colour palette. There’s something going on here which at times makes you think that you need to be using three-dimensional glasses – but I certainly don’t mean that pejoratively because it all works to perfection. The generous tall, slim format of the book also helps to give a sense of something special and sumptuous and by not trying to ape the style of the older Japanese books but to find an alternative mode of presentation that adds to the heritage, the overall impact is assured.

I love books like this that break rules or refuse to follow precedent and I think it’s a shame you’ll probably struggle to find this on the shelves of your local bookshop. You can of course order it from your bookseller or go to Little Gestalten’s website to order it. If you do that, you’ll find there’s a lot of other tip-top titles that probably aren’t on the high street shelves.

 

Terry Potter

March 2020

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