Author: Nakano Shuji.
Title: [Kao?] [Doke Asobi Sugoroku].
Description: Tokyo, Nihon Shonen 1920 (Taisho 9). 55x79cm colour broadside. Signs of use: some brown spots, small holes in folds. ¶ I'm baffled by the first two characters in the title. I find that most references transcribe them as (Nihon - Japan) or (shonen - boy) and I don't know why, since that's the source, not the title. Only one gives us (Kao - face) which bears some resemblance to the actual characters but really doesn't seem satisfactory. Anyway, this a game of boys' games - games that involve physical antics and clowning such as forehead wrestling - and was the new year gift from the magazine Nihon Shonen and you know how that translates if you've been paying attention.

Keywords: paper games pastimes illustration sugoroku c20th Japan modernism graphic art maps Asia