Gold Pollen
(Find me at 50 Watts Books.)
Selections from Gold Pollen and Other Stories by Seiichi Hayashi (1968–72),
edited and translated by Ryan Holmberg (Picturebox, 2013)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971)
From the publisher:
Seiichi Hayashi was a leading figure in the hotbed of avant-garde artistic production of 1960s and early 70s Tokyo. He is best known for his lyrical and experimental manga for Garo, the famous alternative comics magazine. This volume collects a selection of Hayashi’s most important manga from this period, including Red Dragonfly (1968), Yamauba’s Lullaby (1968) and Gold Pollen (1971). [ed.: The other story is Dwelling in Flowers from 1972.] Published here in their original full color, these stories mix traditional Japanese aesthetics with Pop art sensibilities, and range in topic from the legacies of Japanese rightwing nationalism and World War II, to the pervasive influence of America over 1960s Japanese youth culture.
This first color reprinting of Hayashi’s work captures the vivid experimentation of Japanese art at this time. In addition, Hayashi’s youth and beginnings as an artist are illuminated by an autobiographical essay from 1972, translated here for the first time into English. Art historian Ryan Holmberg discusses Hayashi’s place in postwar Japanese art and manga, as well as his wider contributions to the Tokyo avant-garde as a designer and experimental animator. This lavishly illustrated book is likely to have widespread crossover appeal for design and fashion aficionados, as well as for students of the manga genre.
Seiichi Hayashi (born 1945) is best known for his lyrical and experimental manga for Garo, the famous alternative comics magazine. His animated films have been screened at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, among other institutions. Since the 1970s Hayashi has been a nationally revered illustrator, famous for his classically informed depictions of contemporary women and an important influence on acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki, among others. Hayashi lives and works just outside of Tokyo.
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971), blown-up panel
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Gold Pollen" (1971)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Yamanba Lullaby" (1968)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Yamanba Lullaby" (1968)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Red Dragonfly" (1968)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Dwelling in Flowers" (1972)
Seiichi Hayashi, from "Dwelling in Flowers" (1972)
Dear internet editors: When you reblog more than 50% of a post you raise my blood pressure and hence shorten my lifespan.
This post first appeared on May 21, 2014 on 50 Watts
