Funny Poems and Militarism in 1940

[Collected Works of Hanboku] Hanboku zenshu

Yusa, Keizo (writing as Hanboku)

Notes: "Assorted haiku, tanka, senryu, essays, anecdotes, and 'jokes' composed by Yusa Keizo, most of which are preceded by headnotes explaining the circumstances of composition. In addition, there are sections on: 1) the activities and membership of various organizations supporting the Japanese government in the 1930s; 2) eulogies in memory of Aratani Setsuo; and 3) Issei poetry published in the New Year's edition of the immigrant press from 1907 to 1940."—A Buried Past, 620 (as Yusa Keizo).

"Mainly includes literary work by the author, but also includes descriptions of Japanese military support by Japanese in the United States, other people's poems, and report of Aratani Setsuo's funeral (1885-1940). According to forewords by various people, Hanboku was called a critic of Japanese society in the U.S."—JANM bibliography, 229 (as Yusa Hanboku (Keizo)).

In 2014, a facsimile edition was published in Japan as "Collected works of Hanboku, master of Japanese American humorous poems," however this book is most often cited in the academic literature as an example of Issei (first generation immigrant) views on Japan's militarism in the 1930s. One of the plates at the front is a halftone image of two airplanes purchased for the Japanese military with funds raised in Japanese immigrant communities. Support among the Issei for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, including extensive fundraising, was a factor in the US government's decision to intern Japanese Americans during the Second World War.

The author was born in Japan about 1879. At the 1940 census, he was working as a farm laborer in Santa Maria, California, and living with his wife and a son, a dentist. He died on January 5, 1941 after being hit by a car.

Yusa Keizo wrote under the pen name Hanboku, meaning something like Half-servant, written in kanji as 半僕. The same characters are also romanized Keizo.

[8], 47, 67, 77, 35, 533 pages, including a few halftone plates. Printed in Japan.

OCLC: 20275808, 683058565 as Yusa Hanboku.

Edition + Condition: First edition. Very good in the publisher's blue cloth in the original cardstock slipcase.

Publication: Santa Maria, CA: (the author), 1940 (Showa 15).

Item No: #362058

Price: $850