[SENGOKU KŌTARŌ]. 千石興太郎.

国民精神総動員 家庭実践心得. [Kokumin seishin sōdōin. Katei jissen kokoroe].
[Total Mobilisation of National Spirit. Practical Preparations on the Home Front].

[Tokyo]. 産業組合中央会. [Sangyō Kumiai Chūōkai]. 昭和 13 [ 1938]. Stock ID #172022

Colour poster featuring 18 pictorial squares, Colour illustrations, 40 x 50cm, a few small chips and closed tears along margins, little worn along folds, a few small tape repairs on reverse. A good copy of an historically very interesting poster.

This propaganda poster was issued as a supplement to the Ie no Hikari (Light for the Family) magazine in April 1938, the month when the National Mobilisation Law was enacted, giving the Japanese Government the power to mobilise human and material resources for war efforts. Ie no Hikari was founded in 1925 by Japanese social reformers, but by the 1930s was largely controlled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. It aimed to combat radicalism and spread the virtues of patriotism, hard work and productivity, particularly in farm villages. The magazine and its supplements were written in simple language to reach a wide audience, and women readers were a crucial target of its messages. By the time this poster appeared, the journal had a readership of around one million, so its messages would have reached much of the rural population.

The poster has 18 panels: each with an illustration and a campaign slogan. Women figure prominently in most panels. Japanese families are urged to support the army by working hard on the home front, refrain from frivolous pastimes, support one another within the village, eat healthy food (such as miso soup with herrings), save money, buy domestically produced clothes, donate old pots and pans to be melted down and turned into weapons of war, and cultivate unused land. The poster emphasises that it is important for all members of the family (from children to the very old) to be engaged in production of some sort, and that people should welcome the enjoyable opportunity to perform voluntary labour for the nation. A fascinating panel depicts two housewives: a foreign (American?) woman looking on admiringly as a Japanese housewife shows her how to peel a potato without wasting any of the precious nutrition. The slogan reads: "Let's engage your knowledge and ingenuity when you handle goods around the household. Even potato skin has value." Another panel reminds families to observe their daily worship of "the gods and Buddha" (shinbutsu), particularly to show their respect to the ruler and to their parents.

When referring to this item please quote stockid 172022.

Price: $395.00 AU

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