| From the late 19th century to the first half of the
20th century, a large number of adventure stories were published and enchanted
children in Japan as well as in Europe. The stories reflected the society
and civilization of those days: the development of sailing technology,
invention of machines, enthusiasm for foreign and unexplored lands, and
experience of wars. Adventures in such stories that attracted children
of a hundred years ago still attract the children of today into a world
they have never known.
In the on-going exhibition "Venture into the Unknown," the
ILCL shows about 200 books featuring such adventures, most of which
have been selected from the holdings of the NDL and ILCL. This exhibition
traces the history of adventure stories, and shows various works both old
and new featuring "adventure."
|
The exhibition is held in
the Museum (3rd floor of the ILCL)
July 19 - November 9 (Closed on Mondays, National
holidays and September17)
9:30 -17:00 (In November, 9:30 -16:00 on Sundays) |
~Outline
of the exhibition~
Part
1. The birth of adventure stories
-
Adventure stories in Europe
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The magazine "The Boy's Own Paper" and adventure stories
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Adventure stories in Japan
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The magazine "Shonen-kurabu (literally: Boys
Club)" and adventure stories
The Boy's Own Paper Jan.7, 1888 |
Hitomi Takagaki, Hyo no me
(literally: Leopard's eyes), 1928 |
The development of adventure stories
in Japan
| 1848 |
-
Hyoko kiji (a Japanese translation of
Robinson
Crusoe from Dutch translation) published.
|
*In the Meiji era (1868-1912), there
was increased interest in countries overseas, and adventure stories became
popular nationwide.
*After the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and the
Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), intoxicated with victory, people started
to think they needed original Japanese adventure stories, as well as translated
works.
Shonen sekai vol.2 (5th
issue), 1896
|
| 1857 |
-
Robinson hyoko kiryaku (also a Japanese translation
of Robinson Crusoe from Dutch translation) published.
|
| 1880 |
-
Hachijunichikan sekai isshu ( a translation
of Around the world in eighty days by Jules Verne) published.
|
| 1896 |
-
Jugo
shonen (a translation of Two years holiday by Jules Verne)
serialized in the magazine Shonen
sekai (literally: Boys' World).
|
| 1900 |
-
Oson Sakurai published Sekai boken tan sosho
(literally:
World Adventure Stories Library).
-
Shunro Oshikawa published Kaitei gunkan (literally:
The
Submarine).
|
| 1914 |
-
The Shonen-kurabu,
which became the most popular children's magazine of the time, started
publishing.
|
Part
2. Various adventures
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Desert islands
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Oceans
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Unexplored regions
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Foreign countries
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Overcoming a crisis
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Treasure hunting
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Mystery
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Adventure starting from an excursion
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Further adventures
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|
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Daniel Defoe, The life and strange
surprizing adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, mariner,
1790 |
John Masefield, The Bird of
Dawning (Niwatori-go Ichiban nori), 1967 |
~Collections~
| Ingram
Collection
A British collection of 18th-20th century children's literature, started
by Rev. Edward Henry Winnington-Ingram (1849-1930) who collected children's
literature that conformed to Victorian values in the late 19th century.
The collection consists of 1,157 books, including books from America, Australia,
Denmark, France, etc., in addition to Britain. The ILCL acquired the collection
in 1996.
|
 |
 |
W.H.G.
Kingston,
The young rajah, 1885 |
Walter
Crane (illustration), TheMarquis of Carabas' Picture Book,
1873 |
|
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| Nobumasa
Ikeda (Yoichiro Minami) Collection
Nobumasa Ikeda (1893-1980) is a writer who gained a reputation by writing
for the magazine "Shonen kurabu." He translated foreign biographies and
classics under the name "Nobumasa Ikeda," and published original adventure
stories under the name "Yoichiro Minami." The Collection consists of 509
volumes of his works and 361 of his reference materials, most of which
are foreign books. It was donated to the National Diet Library by his bereaved
family in FY2001. |
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