Tatebanko, Japanese paper dioramas

My husband received this Tatebanko made by "It's a Beautiful Day" in his office gift exchange. On their "about" page you can see more images.


Here is one of the pages - they are very attractive before they're cut out.

A definition from Osaka Prints:
"tatebanko-e: "Standing printing-block models," a paper-craft hobby featuring three-dimensional constructions made from woodblock prints. The divertisement appears to have originated in the Kansai region by at least the late eighteenth century. Most designs were dioramas with their various parts printed on one or more sheets, intended to be cut out and assembled. (Thus very few from the Tokogawa period have survived intact, and Meiji-period examples are also uncommon.). The Edo variant was called kumiage-e (assembled picture). Tatebanko-e are considered a type of omocha-e (toy print), although some scenes of kabuki, geisha, samurai, sumô and daily life are hardly "toylike," consisting of elaborate designs with numerous elements cut from large sets of individual ôban sheets. Other related terms include kumiage-dôrô ("assembled lanterns," although not actually "lanterns"), kinkumi-dôrô, and okoshi-e."


This image came from Osaka Prints, in their "articles" section.


I love this one. The parts and the finished tatebanko together are dream-like. It came from this site. I am very handicapped here, since I can't read Japanese. There are many more images on the same page.

On this site you can download some fairly contemporary looking tatebanko as pdfs. One is round and very sculptural, one looks like a tunnel book. Go to the download page by clicking on the left hand red link just below the large image.

Enjoy Korea has a few images of tatebanko, both flat and assembled. Scroll down to see them.