{"product_id":"yukei-tsushin-tokyo-air-raids-1953-ishikawa-koyo-secret-photobook","title":"Tokyo Air Raids 1953 First Publication of Secret Photographs by Koyo Ishikawa","description":"\u003ch2\u003eTokyo Air Raids — \u003cem\u003eFirst Publication of Secret Photographs\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e雄鶏社 (Ondri-sha). 1953 (Showa 28), July. B5. 63pp. Editor: Takeuchi Shuzo. Photography: Ishikawa Koyo.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOVERVIEW\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the night of March 9–10, 1945, over 300 B-29 Superfortresses firebombed Tokyo in what remains one of the deadliest air raids in human history. An estimated 80,000–100,000 civilians were killed in a single night. The photographs taken that night and in the days that followed were classified, suppressed, and kept from public view for eight years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIshikawa Koyo (石川光陽)\u003c\/strong\u003e was the official photographer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. He was there. He photographed the B-29s over the city, the burning of Kanda, the destruction of Ginza, the bodies, the rubble, and the survivors. His photographs were the only systematic official visual record of the raids — and they were locked away until 1953.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis special issue of \u003cem\u003eYukei Tsushin\u003c\/em\u003e, published in July 1953 and edited by Takeuchi Shuzo, was the first publication to bring these photographs to the Japanese public. Eight years after the end of the war, for the first time, readers could see what had actually happened to their city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chapters document the raids in sequence: B-29s over Tokyo \/ The burning of Kanda \/ Life under the air raids \/ Tokyo reduced to rubble \/ The Ginza in flames and the Ginza today. The final chapter — comparing the destroyed Ginza with its postwar reconstruction — gives the document a temporal dimension that transforms it from a record of destruction into a meditation on survival and erasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eIMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the text is printed in Japanese, you can easily read and study this historic document using modern smartphone AI tools. By taking a photo of any page with your smartphone and using free apps like Google Lens, ChatGPT, or Google Translate, the embedded AI will instantly scan and translate the text. Language is no longer a barrier to owning this rare piece of history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWHY THIS VOLUME IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR'S ITEM\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. \u003cstrong\u003eFirst Publication of Classified Photographs\u003c\/strong\u003e — Ishikawa Koyo’s photographs were suppressed for eight years after the war. This 1953 issue was their first public appearance. A primary historical document, not a retrospective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. \u003cstrong\u003eIshikawa Koyo\u003c\/strong\u003e — The official photographer of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. The only systematic visual record of the Tokyo air raids made by someone with official access throughout the raids.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. \u003cstrong\u003e1953 First Publication\u003c\/strong\u003e — Published in the immediate postwar period, when the reconstruction was still visible. The comparative Ginza chapter — destruction and recovery side by side — is only possible in 1953.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e4. \u003cstrong\u003eMiraculous Survival\u003c\/strong\u003e — A mass-market magazine special issue from 1953, printed on period paper stock. Surviving copies in this condition are genuinely rare.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eTokyo Air Raids — \u003cem\u003eFirst Publication of Secret Photographs\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ondori-sha\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEditor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Takeuchi Shuzo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePhotographer:\u003c\/strong\u003e Ishikawa Koyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Police\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eYear Published:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1953 — July\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e B5, 63pp\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e Japanese\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCONDITION\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood+ — Miraculous Survival for a 72-Year-Old Document\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCover:\u003c\/strong\u003e Good+. Age-toning and light foxing to cover consistent with a 72-year-old Japanese magazine. Light rubbing to edges. No tears or cuts.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Tight and fully intact.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eInterior \u0026amp; Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e Good+. Age-toning (yellowing) to pages throughout — entirely expected and characteristic of period Japanese paper stock from the early 1950s. No tears, no cuts, no writing. All photographs and text fully legible. An exceptional survival for a document of this age and fragility.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e*Please carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos before purchasing.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"shady2grove","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":65435125809501,"sku":null,"price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1082\/5888\/5981\/files\/IMG_8617.jpg?v=1785659064","url":"https:\/\/shady2grove.com\/products\/yukei-tsushin-tokyo-air-raids-1953-ishikawa-koyo-secret-photobook","provider":"shady2grove","version":"1.0","type":"link"}