PLENTY TO WATCH
Inscribed first edition of the charming tale of a walk home from school through a lively Japanese village, with an original watercolor by Yashima.
Near fine in good plus dust jacket.
Price: $400.00
PLENTY TO WATCH
"Many umbrellas, waiting to dry in the backyard, looked like the mushrooms in a storybook."
Taro and his wife Mitsu, real names Jun Iwamatsu and Tomoe Sasako, were antifascist activists in addition to artists; they met in the Japanese Proletarian Artists' League. After being arrested and tortured by the Japanese government for their activism, they fled to America; they took on their pseudonyms when they were hired by the Office of War Information, and later the Office of Strategic Services, to protect their family still living in Japan. They produced anti-military propaganda for Japanese consumption in various forms throughout World War II, including illustrating handbills for dropping over battlefields.
After the war, Taro and Mitsu wrote PLENTY TO WATCH and their other children's books to tell their American-born daughter Momo about life in Japan before the war. Based on Taro's childhood in a small village, this story brings to life all of the active workshops and craftspeople of early 20th century Japan.
Read more: Robinson and Matsumoto, "The Epic Lives of Taro and Mitsu Yashima;" Naoko Shibusawa, "The Artist Belongs to the People: The Odyssey of Taro Yashima," Journal of Asian American Studies, vol. 8 no. 3.
The Object
New York: The Viking Press, 1954. 10'' x 7.5''. Original yellow publisher's cloth binding with red stamped titles and designs. Original color pictorial dust jacket, awkwardly price-clipped. Pictorial front endpapers with scenes of the Japanese summer. Illustrated in color throughout. 39 pages. Original watercolor artwork to verso of front flyleaf by Taro Yashima of a flowering branch and kanji, signed, stamped, and dated "Dec. 2, 1957." Dust jacket with chipping and wear to extremities; long tear to spine, repaired with tape on verso. Corners and spine ends of binding very lightly bumped, boards mildly bowed. A sound and vibrant copy.
The Fine Print
We work hard to meet our ethical responsibility to describe our material accurately. All items are guaranteed as described and may be returned for any reason within 30 days. Please notify us before mailing a return.
We guarantee the authenticity of our items. All materials are original (meaning not facsimiles or reproductions) unless otherwise noted. First editions (meaning first edition, first printing) are explicitly stated. TPM is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
All photographs are of the actual item for sale. We're happy to provide additional images on request.
All domestic orders ship gratis. For orders under $250, free USPS media mail shipping is included; orders $250 and over ship USPS Priority. International orders over $500 also ship gratis. Expedited, overnight, as well as other carriers (UPS, Fed-Ex, etc.), may carry additional costs beyond quoted rates. All orders receive tracking information and a direct contact in case of any questions.
International buyers are responsible for any customs, taxes, and related import fees. Please note that we are unable to accomodate requests to misrepresent, misdeclare, or otherwise falsify customs documents when shipping internationally. We appreciate your understanding.
We accept all major credit cards, Paypal, Venmo, check, money order, and bank wire. We are happy to bill institutional buyers' needs. Sales tax will be added to applicable purchases. Items subject to prior sale.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, please contact us. We prioritize our long-term relationships far above any individual purchase, and we want you to love your item as much as we loved cataloguing it.
