Maggs Bros. Ltd.

A superb production limited to 50 copies: Sekino Junichiro's illustrated version of the Saiyuki, or The Journey to the West.

This is a famous 16th century Chinese text, which is thought to have been first translated into Japanese in the 18th century, and much later into English by Arthur Waley (1889–1966) under the title Monkey: A Folk-Tale of China (1942). The story follows a Buddhist monk named Tan Sanzang, or Tripitaka, (based on the 7th century monk Xuanzang), who travels from China to India in search of precious sutras. He is accompanied by three companions who protect him along the way: Sun Wukong the 'Monkey King', Sha Wujing the 'Sand Monk' and Zhu Bajie, the 'Pig Monk'. Across the 100 chapters, the four protagonists embark on an epic journey filled with adventures and obstacles they must overcome together.

This book was printed by Sekino and bound by Naito Masakatsu (dates unknown), and according to the colophon it was the publisher Aozonoso's 17th title. The book was privately circulated and there is a note to say that the book is not for sale. Regardless, this would have been an immensely costly production, made even more impressive by the wartime context. The paper is of especially high quality and clearly no expense has been spared.

Very rare. Only 1 copy in OCLC (National Diet Library, Tokyo).