Antique Japanese manga booklet composed of woodcut illustrations depicting the journey of a wandering samurai. Titled "Part 4: Bean Curd Puffs". Approximately 18 pages. 

Condition: Some discoloration and loss to corners. 

Size: 4 1/2 x 7 in. 
#2515 #8 . 

Manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. It is common for people of any age, gender, or class to read some form of manga regularly, making it one of the most popular types of media in the country. The medium includes works in a broad range of genres: action, adventure, business and commerce, comedy, detective, drama, historical, horror, mystery, romance, science fiction and fantasy, erotica (hentai and ecchi), sports and games, and suspense, and more. Manga originated from emakimono (scrolls) dating back to the 12th century. During the Edo period (1603-1867), a book of drawings titled Toba Ehon further developed what would later be called manga. The word manga is composed of the two kanjis “man” (meaning “whimsical or impromptu”) and “ga” (meaning “pictures”). The word first came into common usage in the late 18th Century, often associated with ukiyo-e artists. The word has come to be used as a shorthand for any and all kinds of cartooning, comics, and animation in Japan, with unique variants emulating it in Korea, China, and America. Manga stories are typically printed in black-and-white due to time constraints, artistic reasons, and to keep printing costs low, although some full-color manga exist. In Japan, manga are usually serialized in large manga magazines, often containing many stories, each presented in a single episode to be continued in the next issue. Post World War II, the artform saw a paradigm shift reflected by the massive structural changes to Japanese society, as well as American influences on Japanese culture, business, and lifestyles. By 1995 the manga market in Japan was valued at $6-7 billion in US dollars, and by 2020 their popularity had spread internationally, with manga constituting over 75% of American comic and graphic novel sales. This has also resulted in an explosion of anime (film and television) and video game adaptations of manga since the start of the new Millennium, with long-running series like “One Piece” and stand-alone films by animator-directors like Hideaki Anno, Satoshi Kon, and Hayao Miyazaki having major influences on Western filmmakers. 

The style of this piece indicates that it is likely pre-WWII, and the condition is incredible due to the turmoil the country experienced over the last century.

Some discoloration and loss to corners.