{"product_id":"george-orwell-nineteen-eighty-four-1950-first-japanese-edition","title":"George Orwell — Nineteen Eighty-Four 1950 First Japanese ed w\/ Original Dust Jacket","description":"\u003ch2\u003eGeorge Orwell — \u003cem\u003eIchiku Hachijuyon-nen\u003c\/em\u003e (一九八四年 \/ Nineteen Eighty-Four), translated by Kenichi Yoshida (吉田健一), Naotaro Tatsuguchi (龍口直太郎) \u0026amp; Tetsuo Shinjo (新庄哲夫). Bungeishunju Shinsha (文藝春秋新社), Tokyo, 1950. First Japanese Edition, First Printing.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1950 — the year immediately following the English first edition (Secker \u0026amp; Warburg, 1949) — this is the legendary first Japanese translation of George Orwell's \u003cem\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c\/em\u003e: one of the defining texts of the twentieth century, brought to Japanese readers at the precise moment when its warnings about totalitarianism, surveillance, and the destruction of truth carried the most urgent possible resonance. Japan in 1950 was a nation under occupation, rebuilding its identity in the shadow of war — and Orwell's vision of a world governed by perpetual war, doublethink, and the erasure of history arrived with the force of lived experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe dust jacket is among the most arresting cover designs in postwar Japanese publishing. A dense, expressionist crowd scene — uniformed figures, blank-faced masses, the sash of the Anti-Sex League — dominated by a poster bearing the face of Big Brother and the words \u003cstrong\u003e\"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU\"\u003c\/strong\u003e in English, set against the caption \u003cem\u003eLondon in 1984\u003c\/em\u003e. The title — 一九八四年 — blazes in red across the composition. It is a cover that understood exactly what it was illustrating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat this copy retains its \u003cstrong\u003eoriginal dust jacket\u003c\/strong\u003e in good condition is, for a 75-year-old Japanese softcover, genuinely exceptional. Dust jackets of this era and format are among the most fragile artifacts of postwar Japanese publishing — subject to wartime paper shortages, postwar disposal drives, and the general entropy of time. A jacketed first printing of the first Japanese \u003cem\u003e1984\u003c\/em\u003e is a document of extraordinary rarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e George Orwell\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTranslators:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kenichi Yoshida (吉田健一), Naotaro Tatsuguchi (龍口直太郎), Tetsuo Shinjo (新庄哲夫)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ichiku Hachijuyon-nen \/ 一九八四年 (Nineteen Eighty-Four)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bungeishunju Shinsha (文詝春秋新社), Tokyo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eYear:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1950 (Showa 25) — First Japanese Edition, First Printing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Softcover with original dust jacket \/ 366 pages \/ 190 × 125 mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Japanese\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInclusions:\u003c\/strong\u003e Original dust jacket present.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition: Good — Exceptional Survival for a 75-Year-Old Jacketed Copy\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDust Jacket:\u003c\/strong\u003e Age-toned and lightly worn at edges and spine ends, consistent with 75 years of survival. The cover image retains full visual impact. Please inspect listing photographs carefully.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBinding \u0026amp; Text Block:\u003c\/strong\u003e Solid and complete. Pages age-toned as expected for postwar Japanese paper stock.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInterior:\u003c\/strong\u003e No writing, no stamps, no tears. Text fully legible throughout.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease inspect all high-resolution listing photographs carefully before purchasing.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"shady2grove","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":65419943805277,"sku":null,"price":990.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1082\/5888\/5981\/files\/IMG_5783.jpg?v=1785477374","url":"https:\/\/shady2grove.com\/products\/george-orwell-nineteen-eighty-four-1950-first-japanese-edition","provider":"shady2grove","version":"1.0","type":"link"}