An Illustrated Mirror of Hawking - by Kawanabe Kyosai (Hardcover)

About the Book

"An Illustrated Mirror of Hawking is a translated, facsimile reprint of Kawanabe Tåoiku's woodcut print picture book on falconry, Ehon Takakagami (Mirror of Hawking). The first proper translation ever accomplished, the meaning of the script accompanying each woodcut illustration plate can now be known to non-Japanese readers. In addition to fully reprinting the original images and texts, this edition includes contextual essays by Karl-Heinz Gersmann, Keiya Nakajima, and Alain Briot, and reference images that provide important background information about Kyosai, the history of Japanese falconry, and the origins of this unique publication"--

Book Synopsis

Kyosai's fascinating publication on the ancient art of Japanese falconry, the Ehon Taka Kagami, is reproduced for the first time with full English translations.

Kawanabe Kyōsai (pen name Kawanabe Tôiku) is a globally celebrated 19th century Japanese artist with an astonishing reper-toire of styles and artistic themes. His wood-cut print picture book on falconry, Ehon Taka Kagami (The Mirror of Hawking), first pub-lished in 1863, remains relatively unknown among his modern admirers. Nonetheless, An Illustrated Mirror of Hawking is an invaluable record of an ancient art. Kyōsai was commissioned by a retired daimyo (feudal lord) to create studies depicting traditional Japanese falconry, which may have inspired the illustrated plates of the An Illustrated Mirror of Hawking. He added explanatory script to caption most plates, as well as stories, poems, and songs chronicling falconry and celebrating nature. This edition provides the first proper translation of the Ehon Taka Kagami, revealing the meaning of the words accompanying each plate to non-Japanese readers. In addition to fully reprinting the original images and texts, this edition includes contextual essays and reference images that provide important background information about Kyōsai, the history of Japanese falconry, and the origins of this unique publication.

About the Author

Karl-Heinz Gersmann is a falconer, historian, and collector based in Germany.

John Goodell is Executive Director and Chief Curator of The Archives of Falconry in Boise, Idaho.