In 1941, Kanaseki Takeo (1897-1983), a professor at Taihoku Imperial University, founded Minzoku Taiwan (Folklore Taiwan) to preserve disappearing local traditions. He collaborated with scholars and artists like Ikeda Toshio, Kokubu Naoichi, and Tateishi Tetsuomi. Tateishi, who managed the book design, used woodblock prints to turn folklore elements into cover art and illustrations. The magazine covered diverse topics, from daily life to folk beliefs and cuisine. Kanaseki frequently introduced Yanagi Muneyoshi's folk art philosophy in his magazine column. Despite wartime paper rationing and censorship after 1943, the editors maintained a rustic, handmade aesthetic through typography and layout.
✦ Source: " Chatting" by Ikeda Toshio et al., Kairan No. 1, p. 200
✦ Cover of Minzoku Taiwan 1:6 (Nov. 1941), special issue on Shilin, presenting themes from the "Shilin Cultural Exhibition" organized by Tsao Yung-ho in August 1941.
✦ Catalogue of the Shilin Cultural Exhibition (Mimeographed copy; Source: Yang Yun-ping Collection).
✦ Cover of Kogei magazine (Bequeathed by Kanaseki Takeo).
From July 1946, Kanaseki Takeo initiated Kairan Zasshi (Circulation Magazine), an internal journal for retained Japanese scholars in Taiwan. Though taken to Japan by Kanaseki in 1949, his family donated his collection—including 15 issues (19 volumes) of the magazine—to National Taiwan University in 2012. Continuing the spirit of Minzoku Taiwan, this magazine features hand-written texts and hand-carved prints, with the contributors taking turns as editor-in-chief. It also shared personal news, such as a wedding special for Ikeda Toshio and Huang Feng-zi in Issue 6, Volume 2.
✦ Kairan Zasshi (Bequeathed by the late Prof. Kanaseki Takeo; Exhibited in Special Collections, 2012).
✦ Title page and inner illustration from Kairan Zasshi No. 1 ("Flowers and Fruits"), edited and illustrated by Tateishi Tetsuomi, depicting an outing with Ikeda Toshio and Huang Feng-tzu (July 9, 1946)
The final issue, edited by Tateishi Tetsuomi, features a vibrant woodblock print of the editorial staff headed by the first four lines of the Japanese farewell song Hotaru no Hikari (Glow of the Firefly): hotaru no hikari, mado no yukifumi yomu tsukihi, kasane tsutsu (The light of fireflies, the snow by the window, the days and months spent reading books, accumulating over the years), serving as their sincerest goodbye to Taiwan.
✦ "Marriage Announcement" in Kairan Zasshi 6:2 (Jan. 21, 1947), announcing the Taipei wedding of Ikeda Toshio and Huang Feng-tzu, with Dr. and Mrs. Kanaseki Takeo as matchmakers and Yano Hozumi as witness.
✦ Contents page of Kairan Zasshi No. 1 ("Flowers and Fruits").
✦ Group portrait of the editorial team, illustrated by Tateishi Tetsuomi (Kairan Zasshi No. 15).