The Old Man Who Made Dead Trees Blossom
publisher
Hasegawa Takejiro
(Tokyo, 1853 - 1938)
illustratorIllustrated by
Kobayashi Eitaku
(Tokyo, 1843 - 1890, Tokyo)
translator
David Thompson
(Cadiz, Ohio, 1835 - 1915)
Date1885
Place MadeJapan, East Asia
MediumPrinted ink and color on paper
Dimensions18.2 x 12.5 cm (7 3/16 x 4 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsBooks
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession number8.a.1.5
eMuseum ID720427
EmbARK ObjectID17681
TMS Source ID5926
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThe Japanese Fairy Tales book series was first published in Tokyo by the Kobunsha press in the mid-1880s. Kobunsha’s founder, Takejiro Hasegawa (1853-1938), originally created these English translations of Japanese folk stories as schoolbooks for Japanese students. After realizing that they would also be popular with a Western audience, Hasegawa redesigned them as souvenirs for tourists.
Isabella Stewart Gardner was fascinated by Japanese culture and toured the country with her husband in 1883. She created a Japanese garden for her Brookline residence, and acquired Japanese art for her museum. Gardner purchased seventeen Hasegawa books, taking care to acquire first editions published for Japanese readers when possible.
Isabella Stewart Gardner was fascinated by Japanese culture and toured the country with her husband in 1883. She created a Japanese garden for her Brookline residence, and acquired Japanese art for her museum. Gardner purchased seventeen Hasegawa books, taking care to acquire first editions published for Japanese readers when possible.
BibliographyNotesSusan Sinclair and Philip B. Eppard. Catalogue of Children’s Books from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Collection and the Personal Libraries of John Lowell and Isabella Stewart Gardner (Boston, 1988), p. 28, no. 32.
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the East Asian art dealer, Otto Fukushima, New York for $1.50 for sixteen volumes on 16 December 1893.
