Textured Stories: The Chirimen Books of Modern Japan

Chirimen-bon, or crêpe-paper books, were a type of Japanese illustrated book produced between the 1880s and the 1950s and made with textured, fabric-like paper. They came into existence alongside textbooks for Japanese learners of Western languages,and often served as souvenirs for Western visitors to Japan. They covered a wide range of Japan-related topics—fairy tales, folklore, cultural traditions, holidays, festivals, performing arts, and scenes from everyday life—in English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and other languages.

Despite their unassuming appearance, chirimen books served as a crucial medium for disseminating knowledge during a tumultuous moment, as Japan, after more than two centuries of limited contact with the West, was rushing toward Westernization while also striving to establish a unique national identity. This exhibition introduces the history of chirimen books—their production and distribution, the stories they tell, the novel forms of international collaboration that brought them into being, and their enduring legacy—while also showing how they drew upon long-standing traditions from Japan and East Asia more broadly.

Curators: Haruko Nakamura and Yoshitaka Yamamoto