Comment - Several Boys and girls playing spinning top and flying kites. From left to right: two boys are trying to lift an Edo kite ("Edo-tako", "江戸凧") with a Daruma face. Above them in the backgruound, are three boys trying to catch an Edo kite who just escaped, the kite line and kite reel still in the air. A boy with a vertical striped Yukata is running and trying to keep his red Yakko kite ("yakko dako", "奴凧") in the air. Aboy with horizontal red and white striped garment tears his kite line to save his tumbling down blue Edo kite. Near him stands a boy flying a white Fan kite fan kite ("sensu tako", "扇子凧"). In the background upper right is a Bird-of prey kite ("tonbi dako", "鳶凧"), and three other kites to be seen.
This print is number three of several offset lithographs from a Meiji Era book on "Japanese Children". Edited in the Meiji era, after 1895, as one of the images depicts a boys playing soldier and the text references mention the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 - 1895.


Series - none


Artist - Meiji era artist (unread)


Signature ~


Publisher ~


Image Size -  llustrations, each 20.0 x 28.9cm (7 7/8" x 11 3/8") + margins as shown;
                    closed book 24.1 x 14.5 x 0.64cm (9 1/2" x 6 7/8" x 1/4")


Condition - complete book titled "Japanese Children", featuring 10 offset lithographs of boys and girls enjoying traditional activities, such as flying kites (see above), catching fireflies, and playing beneath the blossoming cherry trees at Ueno Park. The back of the book includes a paragraph in English commenting on each of the illustrations.