SEASHORE STORY by Yashima, Taro - 1967

New York: The Viking Press, 1967. Near fine in very good plus dust jacket.. Signed first edition of this retelling of the Japanese fable of turtle-saving fisherman Urashima, illustrated in rich pastel - with an original drawing by Yashima. Taro Yashima, real name Jun Iwamatsu, was an antifascist activist in addition to an artist; he met his wife Mitsu in the Japanese Proletarian Artists' League. After being arrested and tortured by the Japanese government for their activism, they fled to America; they took on their pseudonyms when they were hired by the Office of War Information, and later the Office of Strategic Services, to protect their family still living in Japan. They produced anti-military propaganda for Japanese consumption in various forms throughout World War II, including illustrating handbills for dropping over battlefields.

SEASHORE STORY presents the tale of Urashima through the eyes of inquisitive Japanese children, who wonder about his sad end; in many ways, this work is symbolic of the end of childhood. This was Yashima's last children's book: his daughter, Momo, who he had begun telling these stories for, had grown out of them. 9'' x 10.75''. Original brown publisher's cloth binding with blue stamped titles. Original color pictorial dust jacket, clipped. Blue and white patterned endpapers. Illustrated in color throughout. [42] pages. Original ballpoint pen and colored pencil art by Yashima to half-title page with signature, dated 1968 on verso of front flyleaf. Light edgewear and mild sunning around dust jacket spine. Light toning to upper edge of binding. Sharp and vibrant.