1926. Colour lithograph, text in Japanese, 54.1 x 76.4cm. Old folds, slight stains to margins. Linen-backed.

In this sugoroku map the world it shows people, animals and places of importance at the time as seen by the Japanese, and Australia is represented by an Indigenous man, kangaroos, sheep, a lyre bird, and an incongruous monkey.

Sugoroku (‘double-sixes’) are Japanese board games that can be traced back to the twelfth century and became popular in the seventeenth century. They originated for adults as a dice-based contest for gambling, but as commercial publishing expanded in twentieth century Japan, they became more oriented towards children’s board games. While sugoroku were made for recreation, some carried political, nationalistic or educational messages as government agencies, the military, educators and companies appropriated the format. Subsequently, the games began to reflect Japan’s “popular culture, political agendas, and messages about social values, gender roles, race, and national identity.” Ref: Princeton University; NLA. Ref Item #CL194-124

Price (AUD): $1950