[Tosei Fuzoku Gojuban Utaawase].

Tokyo, Yoshikawa Hanschichi 1907 (Meiji 40). Two volumes 25x18cm publisher's wrapper with title labels; 52 full page colour woodcuts by Asai. An outstanding pair. Such a fresh and crisp copy of the original edition that I can't bring myself to flatten these out enough to photograph the interior. So the illustrations here, apart from the covers, are from another copy, almost as good, to give an idea of the charm and humour of Asai's observations of the modern Japanese seen in pairs but not necessarily couples. Each of these illustrations accompanies a poem on modern customs; the book's title calls this a poetry competition.Asai, elder and teacher of the school of western painting, fortunately never abandoned the tradition of satirical illustration. This was published just before his death. Each of these illustrations accompanies a poem on modern customs; the book's title calls this a poetry competition.