Teikokukan ny su [Teikokukan news]. Group of forty film programs by Asakusa Teikokukan (Cinema Theatre)

[Tokyo]: Asakusa Teikokukan, circa 1930-1934. Small octavos (15 × 11 cm). Original pictorial and photo-illustrated wrappers; between 6 and 14 pp. per issue. Contents illustrated in black and white with numerous film stills and photographs; wrappers (rectos and versos) in color. All but nine issues with the weekly schedule of screenings cut-out, affecting upper half of one page per issue. Rear wrapper detached to no. 195; otherwise very good. A visually striking and well-preserved ephemeral source of information on domestic cinema in interwar Japan, and an appealing example of the vibrant modernism of Japanese graphic design. The wrappers incorporate both selections from film stills and advertisements in interesting photo-montage designs, usually printed in two colors, often on variously colored stock. With additional designs to the insides of wrappers, as well as black-and-white photographs, film descriptions, and weekly programming within. These weekly film programs (which range from issues 87 to 284 - inquire for a list of issues), were issued by the Teikokukan cinema chain, which first emerged in Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood and later spread to other districts and cities. As of August 2019, we cannot trace any copies in either KVK or OCLC.