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Aka-hon (Red Book)

This article is about Aka-hon.

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Typical Akahon Books

Aka-hon

Aka-hon, literally meaning "red book," is a Japanese literary medium created during the Edo Period, circa 1661-1748. These books were a somewhat red softcover booklet, and featured wood-block printed illustrations. The red soft cover is what made the book's name Aka-hon. Aka-hon is also known to be seen in Kusazōshi, which is a family of colored books. The red color of the book showed that the stories inside of the book were mostly childish, and also meant that it was the first book most children would read in the Kusazōshi series. Typically consisting of legends, old tales, and lots of illustrations, some of these books are still used today as some children's story books in Japan. During the Edo Period, people who had or bought red books typically had a high literacy rate. Not just any commoner could read these books, as literacy was not something that was commonly known during this time period.

Aka-hon Manga

Aka-hon manga, a somewhat different version of the Aka-hon from 1661-1748, was a dominant form of literature entertainment during the post-WWII Japan time era. Peaking around the years of 1948 and 1949, aka-hon manga were built quite differently from their original forms during the Edo Period. Instead of softcover red booklets, aka-hon manga was made of flimsier paper, due to the lack of high grade paper. A lot of manga was creating during this time period, and was enjoyed by many, so it sold lots of copies and became somewhat popular during this time period. The main difference between the actual aka-hon from the Edo period and the aka-hon manga is that the manga is the difference in content. Although the content still remained to be targeted at a younger audience, this literature was typically influenced by the foreign media at the time. Each story has a different lesson to learn, and each is just as interesting as the next aka-hon manga on the shelf.

Kusazōshi

The term Kusazōshi refers to more than just aka-hon, it also refers to kuro-hon and ao-hon. All of these books were published before 1775, they consisted of more pictures rather than text, because text was not of much importance during this time. These books were not considered a high literary value, but were still of interest to scholars, as these books provided interests and lifestyles of ordinary people during this time period. Due to the books being easy to understand and read, they had a wide audience, and were favored by most commoners.

References

• “Akahon - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/akahon/m03d6z29?hl=en.
• Commentary "Edo Picture Books and the Edo Period", https://www.kodomo.go.jp/gallery/edoehon/era/index_e.html.
• “Kusazōshi.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kusaz%C5%8Dshi.
• Ryan Holmberg | January 5, 2012. “The Bottom of a Bottomless Barrel: Introducing Akahon Manga.” The Comics Journal, 18 Sept. 2021, https://www.tcj.com/the-bottom-of-a-bottomless-barrel-introducing-akahon-manga/.