Bean Crafts (1927)
Building Blocks (1927)
Color Tape Crafts (1928)
Origami (1927)
Millet Straw Crafts (1925)
Paper Collage (1929)
Kodomo no Kuni was a Japanese magazine for kids. It was born in 1922 and it published short stories to support the education of young children with focus on art. This magazine disappeared in 1949 after 256 issues.
Kodomo no Kuni included pictures, stories, children’s songs, dances, plays, and articles on handicrafts for young children. It was published in a format and content pioneering a totally new genre of artistic children’s magazines.
The editorial policy of Kodomo no kuni was to encourage the free and unrestrained imagination of children by way of art and present fine works of decorative art that would foster the wholesome development of their best human qualities.
Takeo Takei (1894- 1983) became one of the leading illustrators for Kodomo no kuni from its inaugural issue.
He used traditional methods of wood letterpress, woodcut or lithography but he also began experimenting with clay block printing and working with images on glass, ceramics, slides… Do not miss out his illustrations from a 1925 edition of Aesop’s fables, sure you will love them.
More about Takeo Takei here
More about Kodomo no kuni here
