My Visit to Vintage Children's Book Shop えほんやるすばんばんするかいしゃ
A pleasantly sunny and breezy day in Tokyo. The second day of Autumn in 2023. This was the day I chose to visit EHONYA RUSUBAN BANSURU KAISHA, a vintage children’s book shop located in Koenji. According to the shop’s website, about 3,000 out-of-print children’s books are stocked, originating from Japan and foreign countries, with publication dates going as far back as the 1950s. Indeed, it is a shop whose contents are as delightful as its name. When I read the whimsical lettering featured on the sign board, I couldn’t help but wonder how such a fun name came about. The image of a bookstore clerk babysitting precious, old books comes to my mind.
On the day that I visited the shop, an exhibition was being held. I learned about the exhibition from the shop’s Instagram (link provided below). The artworks were wonderful to view in person and I felt that the shop’s wooden, dimly lit atmosphere was well suited as a backdrop to the magical watercolor paintings. Noticing this, I learned that the place where one’s art is exhibited influences the exhibition itself.
I rummaged through the impressive stock of children’s books like the Little Mermaid searching through things left behind in the sea by humans. What fascinating treasure would I end up purchasing? There were a couple of contenders, but the winning item was…“Yoi Ko No Kuni”, an educational magazine. Although the magazine was old it was surprisingly in good condition. As I flipped through the pages, I mused at the illustrations. And then…it was the photo of the single lotus flower blooming majestically in a pond which instantly mesmerized me, whispering softly but firmly to my inner consciousness this one question, “wouldn’t it be best if you bought me?”. And so, my purchase was decided.
Some background on my purchase which I subsequently confirmed: it was an educational magazine titled “Yoi Ko No Kuni” (literally translated as “Good Children of the Country” in English), published in 1953 by the company which is presently known as Gakken—a publisher of educational books and materials. At that time the publishing house was called Gakushuu Kenkyuusha (Learning Research Company) and was based in Ota-ku. I later found out in a news article that Gakken was founded in 1946 by Hideto Furuoka. Today, the Gakken headquarters are in Shinagawa-ku.
For me, choosing the magazine was an astonishing coincidence because earlier that month, I came across a newspaper article which reported on two wonderful children’s books recently reprinted by Gakken, namely “Star Park” and “Shooting Star’s Gift”, both authored by Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder and educator Daisaku Ikeda, whom I deeply respect.
For children’s book lovers, EHONYA RUSUBAN BANSURU KAISHA is like paradise. However, this author will note that among the stock of books, there is one thing missing which cannot be helped…What is it? That will be revealed in a future article.
Photo and Composition: p.bae
Note: The author did not take the photo of the reprinted books. The image is a screenshot captured from the electronic version of the Seikyo Shimbun newspaper.
Link to the Ehonya Rusuban website
Link to Ehonya Rusuban's Instagram
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