Okamoto Kiichi (1888-1930) Nawatobi (Jumping Rope) and Otera no uramichi (Temple Backstreet), 1925

 This sheet music cover illustration was created by Okamoto Kiichi in 1925. It is titled Nawatobi (Jumping Rope) and Otera no uramichi (Temple Backstreet). The size of the cover sheet is 27 x 19.4 cm (10 5/8 x 7 5/8 in. It was used for the Aoitori (Bluebird) music sheet No. 24, which was published by Sasaki Suguru in Tokyo, Japan. The lyrics were written by Takai Mitabi and Mochida Kioyoshi and composed by Sasaki Suguru.

The cover sheet illustrator, Kiichi Okamoto, was born on Awaji in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in 1888. He attended the School of Hakubakai. After graduating, he helped Ryusei Kishida and Kotaro Takamura establish the Fusain Society. Kiichi was also chief illustrator for Kodomo no Kuni (Children's Land), a children's picture magazine. Kiichi's illustration style was influenced by late-19th- and early-20th-century European picture books (Chihiro Art Museum).

This illustration was scanned from page 139 of Songs for Modern Japan: Popular Music and Graphic Design, 1900 to 1950. The book focuses on how graphic design, influenced by rapid modernization, changed the way music cover sheets were made and how music was published and advertised from 1900 to 1950.

Sources:

Kiichi Okamoto | CHIHIRO ART MUSEUM

Brown, Kendall H., Anne Nishimura Morse, Hiromu Nagahara, and Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Songs for Modern Japan: Popular Music and Graphic Design, 1900 to 1950. First edition. MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2024.