[FUJII KOTATSU, AND MURONO TAKUMA] 藤井耕達及び室井琢磨.

世界發明發見双六. [Sekai hatsumei hakken sugoroku].<BR> [World Inventions and Discoveries Sugoroku Game].

東京. [Tokyo]. 文武堂. Bunbudō. Showa 4 [ 1929]. Stock ID #223776

Colour sugoroku game sheet, 53.7 x 78.5cm, a little light browning on reverse. Very good copy.

This colourful sugoroku game was issued as a supplement to the January 1929 issue of the children’s monthly magazine Shōgaku Yonensei (小学四年生, Primary School Fourth Graders). It features a range of discoveries and inventions from Japan and around the world.

The game begins with Edward Jenner giving a smallpox vaccination to his own child, and goes on to depict other inventions and discoveries, including George Stephenson’s steam engine and Thomas Edison’s gramophone. Japanese scientists are also prominently featured, among them Dr Takamine Jōkichi, who discovered diastase, a digestive enzyme preparation used to break down starches, and Kitasato Shibasaburō, who discovered serum therapy for tetanus.

The only female inventor included in the game is Inoue Den (1789–1869), who developed Kurume kasuri (久留米絣), a type of ikat weaving which grew into a large-scale textile industry in Kyushu.

The game is educational, introducing children to important scientific discoveries and inventions from around the world, while also encouraging pride in Japan’s own scientific and technological achievements. Interestingly, the goal of the game features the creation myth of Japan and the idea of the Emperors as descendants of the gods. To modern eyes, the contrast between scientific discovery and national mythology may seem rather striking, but at the time these themes were evidently presented as part of a shared narrative of Japanese achievement and identity.

When referring to this item please quote stockid 223776.

Price: $450.00 AU

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