Antique Japanese Kusazōshi Graphic Novel (One Random Volume)

Each purchase is for ONE random Japanese illustrated graphic novel from the Edo to early Meiji era.

These illustrated short novels were produced in Japan during the late Edo period and into the early Meiji era, mainly in the 1800s. They combined sequential images with written narration, making them visually driven and easy to follow—much like modern manga.

As Japan’s cities grew and literacy spread, popular literature began to shift toward everyday urban audiences. One of the most important forms was kusazōshi, a genre of illustrated, woodblock-printed books that blended images and text. Initially aimed at children, kusazōshi evolved into adult entertainment, especially with the rise of kibyōshi (“yellow-cover books”) in the late eighteenth century. These works used humor, satire, and parody to comment on fashion, politics, and city life, and are often seen as early ancestors of comic storytelling.

In the early nineteenth century, kusazōshi developed into gōkan, longer and more elaborate illustrated stories released in multi-volume formats. With changing tastes and tighter censorship, gōkan focused on extended plots, melodrama, and playful reworkings of classical themes. Together, these genres helped to lay the groundwork for Japan’s modern popular media culture.

Each book contains multiple illustrations, and includes a Certificate of Authenticity.

Japanese books are read right to left (instead of left to right) and are bound on the right side, contrary to those in Western languages. The pages may be double layered, and care must be taken to ensure that they do not separate when flipping through. The book must be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and out of reach of bugs.