K. Kotani
Poster for American students to join the "Oriental Culture Summer College" in Japan, 1933
Lithograph on paper
25 x 11 1/2 inches
With thin metal tabs to the top and bottom of the sheet.
With thin metal tabs to the top and bottom of the sheet.
An interesting poster offering a glimpse at Japanese American relations before the second world war, this graphically-dynamic advertisement offers the opportunity to “learn while touring,” with week-long stays at Tokyo,...
An interesting poster offering a glimpse at Japanese American relations before the second world war, this graphically-dynamic advertisement offers the opportunity to “learn while touring,” with week-long stays at Tokyo, Karuizawa and Kyoto. The program offers university lectures in English by the “highest authorities of Japan.” as well site-seeing tours.
Inaugurated in 1930, the program was the brainchild of Kaju Nakamura, then-editor of “Japanese Abroad” who ran it from its inception to conclusion. In the late 1920s, Nakamura had led groups of Japanese students on excursions through the U.S. and Canada, and felt a program of international students touring Japan could achieve the lofty goal of promoting “international friendship and universal peace.”
The bottom of the poster lists various locations where one could apply for the trip, including through a number of private Japanese-American citizens in San Francisco and Venice, CA, New York City, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Honolulu.
The poster was designed by K. Kotani, who is recognized for his work fusing traditional Japanese designs with art deco elements, further speaking to the poster’s cultural interplay.
Inaugurated in 1930, the program was the brainchild of Kaju Nakamura, then-editor of “Japanese Abroad” who ran it from its inception to conclusion. In the late 1920s, Nakamura had led groups of Japanese students on excursions through the U.S. and Canada, and felt a program of international students touring Japan could achieve the lofty goal of promoting “international friendship and universal peace.”
The bottom of the poster lists various locations where one could apply for the trip, including through a number of private Japanese-American citizens in San Francisco and Venice, CA, New York City, Washington D.C., Seattle, and Honolulu.
The poster was designed by K. Kotani, who is recognized for his work fusing traditional Japanese designs with art deco elements, further speaking to the poster’s cultural interplay.