‎[JAPON]MORRIS Ivan:‎
‎The Tale of the Genji Scroll. Introduction by Yoshinobu TOKUGAWA:.‎

‎Tokyo and Palo Alto, Kodansha International, 1971. Oblong heavy folio. Unpaginated. ‎

Reference : 22082

‎Illustrated with tipped in glossy color reproductions. Splendid edition printed in 1500 numbered copies, ours number 56. Let the publishers discuss the special care involved in making this book.In the production of this book, care has been taken to reflect as far as possible the Heian aesthetic tastes that gave birth to The Tale of Genji Scroll. The vivid safflower red of the box was a colour worn only by the highest-ranking nobility—and also recalls, incidentally, the name given to the un-fortunate, red-nosed Suetsumuhana. The lining of handmade rice-paper, scattered with gold leaf, echoes the decorated paper used for the scroll's sheets of calligraphy. The cloth cover, reproducing an aristocratic Heian wave design against a royal purple ground, was prepared by Takata Shizuo, whose family has for generations been designing and making ceremonial costumes for the Japanese Imperial Household. The purple is matched with pale greyish green— a combination (Hollyhock') much favoured in Heian-period costume. The pattern used for the ribbon was known as 'Woodpecker', since it suggested the effect produced on the bark of a tree by a woodpecker's beak. Traditional Japanese book-making techniques are reflected in the extension of the spine to cover part of the head and tail of the volume, and in the use of ribbon in the bookbinding. The green wash on the endpapers, evocative of new spring foliage, is brushed on by hand. This type of shading from the base upwards was known as susogo, one of three basic types of colour gradation recognized in Heian times and employed, for example, in the many-layered skirts of Heian costumes and in the dyeing of curtains of state. A truly beautiful copy without a single flaw. HORAIRE ESTIVAL : DU LUNDI 27 JUILLET AU SAMEDI 22 AOUT NOUS SERONS OUVERTS UNIQUEMENT SUR RENDEZ-VOUS.‎