[View full image]

“Death Battle with Robot Kong,” an illustration by Takashi Minamimura, features a cutaway diagram of Robot Kong, also known as “Mechani-Kong” in the US version of the cartoon and in the 1967 spin-off film “King Kong Escapes.” Built to defeat King Kong, the 50-meter tall remote-control robot is powered by a 200,000-kilowatt nuclear reactor and can shoot laser beams from its eyes and poison gas from its nose.

The accompanying text describes Dr. Who’s sinister plans to capture King Kong, place a mind-control helmet on his head, and use him to hijack ships and rob banks. He estimates King Kong can carry about 100 million yen in cash in his giant paws.

[View full image]

Appearing in the same issue of Shōnen Magazine is a schematic illustration by Takayoshi Mizuki entitled “Secret Pyramid Base,” which shows Dr. Who’s secret base inside one of the Giza pyramids in Egypt.

The pyramid is equipped with advanced military hardware, including 3D radar, jet launchers, recoilless guns, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, and military tanks that burrow underground. Dr. Who monitors all the action from a wall of TV screens in his room at the center of the pyramid. The base is powered by a nuclear reactor in the basement and surrounded by giant ant-lion sand traps.

Situated nearby is a giant nuclear-powered Sphinx Tank. King Kong battles a variation of this weaponized Sphinx in an episode of “The King Kong Show.” (Watch “The Jinx of the Sphinx.”)

The diabolical Dr. Who and Mechani-Kong also appear in the 1967 film “King Kong Escapes,” which was an adaptation of some of the cartoon episodes.

In the film, King Kong is captured and hypnotized by Dr. Who, but he eventually snaps out of it and escapes to Tokyo. Dr. Who sends Mechani-Kong after him, and the two end up in a battle to the death atop Tokyo Tower.

+ King Kong Escapes – US trailer

[Images via: 昭和の雑誌広告・懐かしモノ]

[Sumo wrestlers]

A stereoview consists of a pair of nearly identical images that appear three-dimensional when viewed through a stereoscope, because each eye sees a slightly different image. This illusion of depth can also be recreated with animated GIFs like the ones here, which were created from Flickr images posted by Okinawa Soba. Follow the links under each animation for the original stereoviews and background information.

[Meeting at gate]

[Buddhist ornament dealer]

[Geisha washing their hands in the garden]

[Chujenji Road, Nikko]

[Geisha playing music]

[Firewood dealers]

[Great Buddha of Kamakura]

[Torii gates at Inari shrine, Kyoto]

[Geisha girls with flowers and cat]

[Traveler in the mountain fog near Chujenji]

[Clam diggers having lunch]

[Tokyo Industrial Exposition, Ueno Park, 1907]

[Campfire on the peak of Mt. Myogi, Nakasendo]

[Geisha in a tearoom]

[Kitano temple, Kyoto]

[Road along the Fuji river]

[Geisha drinking beer in the park]

[Buddhist priest in full dress]

[Geisha looking at stereoviews]

* * * * *

- Future Classroom

“The Rise of the Computerized School,” illustrated by Shigeru Komatsuzaki, takes a peek inside the classroom of the future, where the teacher is an image on a screen and students sit at desks equipped with computers. When the teacher presents a problem, the students input the answer into their computers. If an answer is incorrect, the students use a light pen to make revisions on the monitor until the computer says it is right.

For the purpose of maintaining order, the future classroom will come equipped with watchful robots that rap students on the head if they lose focus or act up. [View full image]

* * * * *

- Future Home

This illustration by Toshio Okazaki, entitled “Computer Life in 20 Years,” depicts what the typical household might look like 20 years in the future — in 1989 — after computers have become an integral part of daily life.

In this high-tech home, dad chats on the videophone while the wall-mounted home computer spits out a newspaper and the automatic air conditioner cools the room.

Junior’s eyes are glued to the 3D TV while an autonomous vacuum robot cleans the floor nearby. A hovercraft floats in the sky outside the window.

Mom performs calculations on a miniature home computer.

The home is also furnished with nifty devices such as an automatic iron, an autonomous wheeled table that keeps food warm, and a kitchen robot that sets the table and takes care of the dishes. [View full image]

* * * * *

- Future Hospital

“The Amazing Unmanned Operating Room,” illustrated by Teruya Yamamoto, takes a peek inside the computerized hospital of the future.

In this unmanned operating room, a computer-controlled robot arm is performing a heart transplant with cool precision. The patient’s heart has been removed and placed on the adjacent table. Before inserting the new artificial heart, the computer waits for instructions from the human doctor, who is monitoring the procedure on a screen in the next room. [View full image]

[Via: 昭和の雑誌広告・懐かしモノ]

An 18th-century picture scroll featuring a procession of Japanese demons and monsters is for sale on eBay. This 11.25 meter (37 ft) long work depicts the Hyakki Yakō (lit. “Night Parade of One Hundred Demons”) — a deadly parade of demons and yōkai (traditional monsters) that, according to Japanese folklore, would often take place on summer nights. The Hyakki Yakō was a popular theme in Japanese visual art during the Edo period, and portrayals of these processions, while frightening, often incorporated a sense of humor. Here are a few images of the scroll, which is currently priced at $15,000.

See more images and details on the eBay page for this item.

[Thanks, Darren!]

Buddhist story [+]

Scary kite [+]

Sanitation campaign [+]

Sanitation campaign [+]

Sanitation campaign [+]

Sanitation campaign [+]

Buddhist story [+]

Story [+]

Buddhist story [+]

Buddhist story [+]

Hell [+]

Hell [+]

Hell [+]

Hell [+]

Hell [+]

Snake woman [+]

Earthquake [+]

Buddhist story [+]

[UHM Magic Lantern Slides Collection via ephemera assemblyman]

Otoroshi [+]

The Otoroshi, a hairy creature depicted in Edo-period books and picture scrolls, perches atop the gates to shrines and temples, waiting to snatch up impious and ill-intentioned people passing below. [More]

Abura-sumashi [+]

The Abura-sumashi (lit. “Oil Presser”), a folk monster from Kumamoto prefecture known for harassing mountain travelers, is believed to be the reincarnated spirit of an oil thief. Long ago, oil was essential for lighting and heating homes, and the divine punishment for people guilty of stealing this valuable commodity — particularly from temples and shrines — was reincarnation as a yōkai. [More]

Kappa [+]

The Kappa, probably the most well-known yōkai in Japan, is a mischievous and often dangerous river imp. [More]

Tsuchigumo [+]

The Tsuchigumo is a large blood-sucking spider sometimes found under the floorboards of old houses. Details about this creature vary from tale to tale, and some theories suggest the monster’s origins can be traced back to the exaggerated and embellished stories of encounters with mountain-dwelling people of ancient Japan, who were also referred to as “tsuchigumo” (lit. “ground spiders”). [More]

Kurage no Hinotama [+]

The Kurage no Hinotama is a jellyfish-shaped fireball (will-o-wisp) found near the sea. An account from the mid-18th century tells of a samurai who encountered one such ghostly flame on a warm breezy night at Zenshoji temple in Ishikawa prefecture. The man tried to slash the floating apparition with his sword, but to no avail. Unscathed by the attack, the fireball discharged a sticky red sap-like substance onto the man’s face. [More]

Peepholes in the closet doors upstairs

* * * * *

In addition to the small collection of yōkai art upstairs, the Kitarō Chaya includes a gift shop and a tiny cafe that serves GeGeGe no Kitarō-themed drinks and snacks. The teahouse is located just outside the main entrance to Jindaiji temple, which is a 20-minute bus ride from Chōfu station (bus #34, north side of station, 200 yen).

In the 1960s and 1970s, Japan saw an explosion in the popularity of sonosheets — cheap, flexible phonograph records printed on thin sheets of vinyl. Widely available from a variety of publishers, the most popular sonosheets featured theme music from TV anime, manga and tokusatsu, and they often came packaged inside booklets featuring colorful artwork. The sonosheet boom was short-lived, though — many companies went under as the market became flooded in the 1970s, and the phenomenon all but disappeared by the 1980s. Here is a small sample of the vast array of sonosheet cover art from that era.

Ultra Q [+]

Batman vs. Iceman

Vampire

Captain Ultra

Batman (front cover) [+]

Batman (back cover) [+]

Ambassador Magma [+]

GeGeGe no Kitaro (front cover) [+]

GeGeGe no Kitaro (back cover) [+]

Falcon of Shidenkai [+]

Kaiki Daisakusen (front cover) [+]

Kaiki Daisakusen (back cover)

Daikaij?sen

Space boy Soran [+]

Thunderbirds [+]

Tetsujin Tiger Seven/ Inazuman/ Diamond Eye

Ultraman (front cover)

Ultraman (back cover)

Henshin Ninja Arashi

Frankenstein [+]

Robot Detective (front cover)

Robot Detective (inside) [+]

Space Monsters

Ultra Seven

[More]

In 1975, graphic artist Tadanori Yokoo produced hundreds of pen and ink drawings for Genka (”Illusory Flowers”), a historical novel by Harumi Setouchi that recounts the struggles of Tomiko Hino, the wife of shogun Yoshimasa Ashikaga (1435-1490). The fanciful illustrations, which do not appear to directly reflect the content of the story, were published along with the novel in a long series of installments in the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper.

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This is just a small sample of the work. For 350+ more, see hiroyasu-tangerine (16 pages): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

[Via: @ColinPeters, @jaypea_aitken, @assemblyman_eph, The Cabinet of the Solar Plexus]

First Love Inferno, 1968 [+]

Keiko’s at Marubutsu Department Store, 1967 [+]

Michelangelo’s Expression, 1968 [+]

Display Exhibition, 1969 [+]

Untitled, from “Mono Aquirax” [+]

Sailor 21 Gold Fountain Pen, 1968 [+]

“Aquirax Uno Collection” Exhibition Poster, 1968 [+]

Mini Books, 1967 [+]

The images here (and more like them) are from the website of Tara Sinn, who has also posted a 2007 interview with Uno.

A selection of Uno’s original posters can also viewed at Kawasaki City Museum as part of the “Graphic Design in the 60s and 70s” exhibit that runs until October 4 (free).

Ghost painting by Kyosai, 1868-1870 [+]

Ghost painting by Kyosai, 1870 [+]

Ghost painting by Kyosai, 1883 [+]

Related:
- 19th-century ghost scrolls at Zenshoan temple
- Sketches of hell by Kyosai

Hachik?

The preserved body of Hachik? — Japan’s most famous dog — is on display on the second floor of the museum’s Japan Gallery wing. An Akita dog born in 1923, Hachik? is remembered for his deep loyalty to his owner. While his owner was alive, Hachik? would greet him at the end of each day at Shibuya station when he returned home from work. The man died in 1925, but Hachik? kept his daily routine, faithfully waiting for his owner every evening at the station for 10 years until he died in 1935. Hachik?’s permanent presence at Shibuya station attracted widespread attention, and his legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty. [More]

* * * * *

Jir?

On display next to Hachik? is the preserved body of Jir?, one of two Sakhalin Huskies famous for surviving a year in Antarctica after being abandoned during a failed scientific expedition to the South Pole. In February 1958, a Japanese survey team stationed in Antarctica left their base after extreme weather conditions prevented a replacement team from reaching the site. Thinking they would return soon, the team left 15 Sakhalin Huskies chained up at the unmanned base. However, due to fuel shortages, nobody was able to return for nearly a year. When the next survey team returned to the base in January 1959, they found that two of the dogs, Tar? and Jir?, had miraculously survived the ordeal. [More]

* * * * *

Kai Ken

Alongside two of Japan’s most celebrated canines is the preserved body of an anonymous Kai Ken (a.k.a. “Tora Inu” or “Tiger Dog”). The Kai Ken is a rare breed of dog considered to be the most ancient and purest dog breed in Japan. Developed centuries ago in the isolated district of Kai (Yamanashi prefecture), the breed was used for hunting boar and deer. The Kai Ken breed was designated a national treasure in 1934. [More]

* * * * *

Other canine specimens on display at National Science Museum

* * * * *

Honsh? Wolf

On display in the museum’s Global Gallery wing (third floor) is the preserved body of a Honsh? Wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax, or Nihon Ookami), one of two extinct species of Japanese Wolf (the other is the Hokkaido Wolf). This species, which once occupied the islands of Honsh?, Shikoku and Ky?sh?, is thought to have become extinct due to a combination of rabies and human eradication. The last known Honsh? Wolf is believed to have died in 1905 in Nara prefecture, though the exact date is disputed (and sightings are still reported occasionally). The stuffed specimen at the National Science Museum is one of five known to be in existence. [More]

* * * * *

Tasmanian Wolf

Another rare specimen on view is the Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus, a.k.a. “Tasmanian Wolf” or “Tasmanian Tiger”), a large carnivorous marsupial (not a canine) native to continental Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea, which is believed to have gone extinct in the 1930s (though sightings are still reported). Here is some footage of what is believed to have been the last living Tasmanian Wolf, filmed in 1933. [More]

Papercraft octopus, Osaka

Paper octopus balloon (1930)

“Hanamaki” clay doll octopus and child, Iwate prefecture

Top: Roly-poly toy // Bottom: Bell/whistle (both from Aichi prefecture, 1932)

Sesame seed roaster (with eyeball that pops out)

Octopus pot/whistle, Aichi prefecture (1933)

Dancing octopus papier-mache doll from Kameido Tenjin Shrine, Tokyo

Octopus bell

Octopus kite, Niigata prefecture (1932)

“Hanamaki” clay doll octopus, Iwate prefecture (1923)

The collection is organized into 60 galleries (Japanese only) that can be navigated by clicking the thumbnail images and arrows.

[Link: Ningyo-do Bunko Database via BibliOdyssey]

Torture in Hell [+]

Enma, King of Hell [+]

Enma’s Judgment [+]

Protest to Enma [+]

Burning at the Stake [+]

Monster Assault [+]

Pandora’s Box [+]

Bashing a Monster into the Ground [+]

Monster Battle [+]

Hawk Counterattack [+]

Retribution: Animals vs. Man [+]

Retribution: Mice vs. Cat [+]