For Workers For Children
Picture book with the gaze of Satoshi Kako
The Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, which used to run from Tokyo to Karuizawa to Kanazawa, has now been extended to Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture. To commemorate this event, the town of Karuizawa and Fukui Prefecture have been collaborating since last year. As part of this collaboration, the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art will hold a special exhibition of picture book artist Satoshi Kako, a native of Fukui Prefecture.
Satoshi Kako (Satoko Kako, 1926-2018) was born in Takefu City (now Echizen City), Fukui Prefecture. After graduating from the University of Tokyo with a bachelor’s degree in engineering, she began to engage in settlement activities (volunteer activities in areas where many factory workers live) while working for a company. As part of these activities, he created handmade picture story shows and picture books for children, which led to his later picture books. Then, in 1959, he made his debut as a picture book author with the publication of “Damu no ojisantachi” (now reprinted on reprint.com) from Fukuinkan Shoten.
Satoshi Kako’s picture books are filled with his own experiences and insights. Particularly significant is his experience of war. After the war, Satoshi Kako began to pursue the question, “What can I do? What he saw were the people who stood up to rebuild their country and the towns they were building. These scenes became the starting point for Satoshi Kako’s creations. As he says, “Children are my teachers,” he created picture story shows and picture books that drew out the inquisitive minds of children by observing their reactions.
For example, his masterpiece “Karasu no Banya-san” (Kaiseisha, 1973) was inspired by “Partizan,” a suite by the Russian Moiseyev Dance Company. Partizan” is about a group of people who go into battle, and Satoshi Kako was struck by “the individual portrayals of soldiers, peasants, laborers, men and women of all ages and walks of life that appear in the piece,” which he used as the inspiration for his study of karasu (crow). The sequels “Karasu no Okashi-ya-san,” “Karasu no Yao-ya-san,” “Karasu no Tempura-ya-san,” and “Karasu no Soba-ya-san” (all from Kaiseisha, 2013) were also published. The expressions of the people who live hard make each of the karasu in this series come alive.
In his masterpiece “Daruma-chan to Kaminari-chan” (Fukuinkan Shoten, 1968), a very futuristic town of “Kaminari-chan” appears, with “cloud cars” and “thunder cars” running here and there, and a “catering transport machine” bringing in food. The full-page spread of this scene makes one wonder if our world will someday be like this. At the same time, we can feel the power of people who have developed science and technology through the residents of the town of Kaminari-chan.
Satoshi Kako’s picture books have long conveyed to children the thoughts and power of “working people. We hope you will enjoy them as well as the author’s “gaze.
*Taking photographs is prohibited in this exhibition.
Highlights of the exhibition] (updated 2024.6.3)
All scenes from “Karasu no Banya-san” (1963, Kaiseisha) are exhibited for the first time *excluding the cover.
Daruma-chan to Kaminari-chan” (1968, Fukuinkan Shoten) will be exhibited in its entirety for the first time in 11 years.
The exhibition features early works by Satoshi Kako, including his debut novel “Dama no Ojisan-tachi” (1959), “Kawa” (1962), “Yuki no Hi” (1966), and “Daruma-chan to Tengu-chan” (1967).
The exhibition also features scenes from a science picture book and the first public showing of the colorful drawings that were used as the basis for the illustrations in the children’s storybooks.
In commemoration of the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Fukui, an event in collaboration with the Kako Satoshi Furusato Picture Book Museum in Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, will also be held! The stamp rally card features the design of “Tatkun Hiro-chan Chocho Tokyu”, part of which will be on display at this exhibition.
Masakari Don ga Sawa Taihen” (Komine Shoten), featuring Echizen City’s traditional industry of hammered knives, is on display.
Cited from: Satoshi Kako’s official website, “Notice,” May 25, 2024.
List of exhibited works
Please wait for a while until it is released to the public.
Event
Echizen City Kako Satoshi Furusato Picture Book Museum “Ishiishi” × Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art Cooperative Stamp Rally
Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art and Echizen City Kako Satoshi Furusato Picture Book Museum “Ishiishi (Raku)” will collaborate with each other. During the period, visitors who have stamps at the two museums will receive an illustration card of “Karasu no Banya-san” (The Karasu Baker)!
Period
Friday, June 14, 2024 – Monday, October 14, 2024 During the opening hours of each facility
*Please note that stamps and rewards cannot be stamped or redeemed after the above period.
How to participate (2024.4.14 Some corrections have been made.)
Please pick up a stamp rally card at the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art or the Raku Ishi (Stone Stone Stone) at the Echizen City Kako Satoshi Furusato Picture Book Museum.
If you receive the mount at “Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art”:
The stamp is already stamped at the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art. Please stamp at “Ishiseki (Raku)” at the designated place in the museum.
If the mount is received by “Ishi Ishi (Raku)”:
Please stamp your passport at the designated place in the museum. After that, please present the stamp at the entrance reception of the Karuizawa Museum of Picture Book Art.
If you visit the other pavilion during the period of the tour and get two stamps on the base sheet, please present the base sheet at the admission desk of each pavilion. You will receive a special prize.
precautions
Due to the limited number of stamp rally cards, the distribution of stamp rally cards may be terminated during the exhibition period.
One privilege will be handed over per one piece of mount.
One certificate is valid per person. Only the person who has the mount can receive the privilege.
Echizen City Kako Satoshi Furusato Picture Book Museum “Ishiishi (Raku)
Hours: 10:00-18:00 (last admission 17:30)
Closed: Tuesdays, weekdays following national holidays, and temporary closing for exhibition changes (September 4 and 5 during the exhibition)
Admission: Free
Link: Home Page ／ Instagram Instagram
