No. 135, February 2004

Selections from NDL Collection
Chirimen-bon: books made of
Chirimen Paper (crepe paper)

This is an abridged translation of the article in
the Reference Service and Bibliography, no.54 (March 2001)
which outlines the NDL chirimen book collection.

"Chirimen-bon" is a book made of chirimen paper (crepe paper), usually illustrated with multi-colored woodblocks print and bound in Japanese style. Many of them were produced from the Meiji to early Showa era (latter half of the 19th century to first half of the 20th century). Chirimen paper itself had been produced since the late Edo period, and was used for hair accessories for women and to print nishiki-e. Chirimen books are thought to have been invented in August 1885, when a Japanese fairy tale series was published by Hasegawa Takejiro (1853-1936). Popular Japanese folktales such as "Momotaro (Momotaro, little peachling)" "Shitakiri suzume (The tongue cut sparrow)" and "Saru-kani Kassen (Battle of the Monkey and the Crab)" were translated in English, French and German, and published in picture book style with woodblock prints. In later years, they were also translated into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, and Danish (the NDL does not hold the Danish version). Thirty-one stories were published in English, over 20 stories in German, French and Spanish, and from one to five or six stories in other languages.

Front cover of "O velho que faz florescer as arvores mortas (The old man who made the dead trees blossom)," Portugese translation of a Japanese fairy tale, Hanasaka jiji. The mark "M" means that this book is available in microform.        Bibliographic data

Chirimen paper is a kind of washi (Japanese paper) made through moistening and compressing to show many tiny folded lines on the surface when it dries. It is very soft. Please click the image to zoom on it and see the texture.  (The image is from "Japanische Dramen; Terakoya und Asagao," a German translation of Japanese classic dramas   Bibliographic data)

The Hasegawa fairy tale series was such a success that chirimen books on other themes, e.g. Japanese poems, traditional performing arts, regular annual events and lives of common people were also published, and other publishers entered into the market. Akiyama Aisaburo (1873-1947) was known as a publisher of large sized chirimen books, while Ogawa Kazumasa (1860-1929) was famous for his chirimen photo albums. Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), Karl Florenz (1865-1939), and Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850-1935) were involved in translation, and colorful ukiyoe-like illustrations of distinguished painters such as Kobayashi Eitaku (1843-1890), Kawabata Gyokusho (1842-1913), and Suzuki Kason (1860-1919) were feasts for the eyes. Catching the wave of Japonisme, chirimen-bon sold well as souvenirs for foreign visitors to Japan and were exported as Japanese artworks. They were also exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1900 and other international exhibitions.

Chirimen books passed a peak in the late Meiji period and the calendar took their place. Hasegawa looked back saying, "They didn't care what was printed. They bought them because they looked exotic. Now it's become common, crepe paper is no longer attractive. It loses its surface so easily." The woodblock print itself had also reached a low ebb by that time. Nevertheless, chirimen books persisted up to the 1970s as souvenirs.

From "Monthly changes of Japanese street-scenes," a calendar book for 1906. Seasonal attractions are illustrated for each month. In this image, paper(or cloth) carp and streamers for the boys' festival in May are illustrated. Click the image for a larger one.   Bibliographic data

Features of the NDL chirimen books collection:

1. It includes a few volumes of Hasegawa fairy tale series in black and white print (cheap edition).
2. It lacks editions in some languages.
3. It does not cover all the works of Hasegawa fairy tale series. For some titles, we hold more than one volume, while for others, we do not have any.
4. It includes a few calendars.
5. Many of the volumes held were published in Tokyo. 

The incompleteness of the collection may be attributed to the way in which the former Imperial Library (one of the predecessors of the NDL) categorized its acquisitions. Chirimen books in minor languages or cheap editions might have been categorized as materials not worth long-term preservation. There is also a possibility that part of collections was lost in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

The NDL recently compiled and published a catalog of its chirimen book collection, including an index of persons who were involved in creating and publishing chirimen books. (The catalog is contained in the Reference Service and Bibliography, no.54 (March 2001), a quarterly publication of the NDL.)

up