Design Quarterly 55; Japan: Book Design Yesterday

During two years of residence in Japan as a research professor, while studying early phases of Japan’s Westernization, Dr. Bernard Rudofsky collected Japanese books and maps of the past three centuries. In 1961, a selection from them was shown by the Museum of Modern Art, for both their aesthetic appeal and documentary interest. In the words of the directors, the exhibition
“proved a revelation of an aspect of Japanese graphics virtually ignored by art historians.” In this issue edited and designed by Rudofsky, we’re introduced to the lost art of Japan’s anonymous makers of books.