✳︎ Published: Showa 17 (1942), Fourth Edition ✳︎ Author: Kunio Yanagita ✳︎ Illustrations: Shigeru Hatsuyama ✳︎ Proofreader: Naoshi Mizuki ✳︎ Publisher: Asahi Shimbun ✳︎ Price: 1 yen 60 sen ✳︎ Pages: 93p ✳︎ Condition: Cover is torn and stained 【Table of Contents】 Preface: Deer, Deer, Antlers, How Many? Guessing Game Kagome Kagome The Small Buddha Within: Jizo Play The Story of Hook Divination The God of Bero Bero The Origin of Toys The Power of Tree Branches Nenki/Nengara The Light is Darkest Under the Lamp Negidoto Yumitaro and the Devotee From Adults to Children The Role of Komi Life in the Birdhouse The Power of the Iwai-bo Powerful Words The Yu-no-ki Ceremony Senban and Manso Bokuchigo's Question and Answer Authorized Mischief Sagicho and the New Year's Hut Children's Group Daughter's Grandchild Bon and Coming-of-Age Ceremony Children's New Words Kubari-goto Okiyaku Play Gokotonbo Onigoto Words Fox Play Child-Buying Question and Answer National Language and Children Deer Play The Evolution of Play Children's Literature Nengara's Hook Distribution of Deer Play Kunio Yanagita, known as the "Father of Japanese Folklore," pursued the question of "What is a Japanese person?" by surveying various regions of Japan. The illustrations are by Shigeru Hatsuyama. Published as a single volume by Asahi Shimbun in Showa 17. The preface states, "Moved by Asahi's plan to create something that children and their mothers could read together." Therefore, it is composed of simple and easy-to-read short essays. It consists of a total of forty sections. The "God of Bero Bero" is mentioned in "The Story of Hook Divination" and "The God of Bero Bero." In the section "The God of Bero Bero," it states, "It is not so old in our country that dolls have become realistic like they are now. The Oshirasama, a wooden god danced by blind shamans in the Tohoku region, is, in some places, just a stick covered with cloth, and in other places, only the eyes, nose, and mouth are drawn on the head of the wood. And this is still sometimes remembered by names such as Kagibotoke. In the strong illusions of the faithful, even a small branch with a hook could still be seen as a blessed god, and it seems that bringing it in front of the mouth of the person who worshiped it was an important condition. Wooden dolls called Oshaburi in Tokyo and Neburiko in Kansai also had their original forms before they were turned on a potter's wheel to become the current Kokeshi dolls, and perhaps they were later managed by the hands of young children." It also touches upon the origin of Kokeshi dolls. #ShigeruHatsuyama #PictureBook #KodomoNoKuni #ChihiroArtMuseum #ChildrensBooks #ChildrensIllustrations #FolkToys #TraditionalKokeshi #Oshirasama #TraditionalKokeshi