{"product_id":"zamyatin-we-first-japanese-translation-both-first-printings-1970-first-edition-1975-bunko-kawabata-kaori","title":"Yevgeny Zamyatin WE — 1970 First JAPAN Edition \u0026 1975 2nd edition Set Original Dystopia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS]\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Author: Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin (Евгений И. Замятин, 1884–1937)\u003cbr\u003e- Title: われら (\u003cem\u003eWarera\u003c\/em\u003e \/ We \/ Мы)\u003cbr\u003e- Translator: Kawabata Kaori (川端香男里)\u003cbr\u003e- Publisher: Kodansha (株式会社講談社), Tokyo\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVolume 1 — First Japanese Edition (1970)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Series: Novels of Today \/ 海外秀作シリーズ\u003cbr\u003e- Year Published: April 12, 1970 (Shōwa 45) — First Printing (第1刷発行)\u003cbr\u003e- Binding design: Tochiorigi Kumiko (栃折久美子)\u003cbr\u003e- Fore-edge: Decorated with concentric circle marbling\u003cbr\u003e- Inclusions: Original obi (帯) present\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVolume 2 — Kodansha Bunko Edition (1975)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Series: 講談社文庫\u003cbr\u003e- Year Published: April 15, 1975 (Shōwa 50) — First Printing (第1刷発行)\u003cbr\u003e- Cover design: Kamekura Yūsaku (亀倉雄策)\u003cbr\u003e- Cover art: Hamada Tomoaki (浜田知明)\u003cbr\u003e- Fore-edge: Decorated with concentric circle marbling\u003cbr\u003e- Language: Japanese (both volumes)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[OVERVIEW]\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe\u003c\/em\u003e was written in Russia in 1920 and immediately suppressed. The Soviet state would not permit its publication; the manuscript traveled underground, surfacing first in English (1924), then in Czech and French. Zamyatin himself was forced into exile in 1932 and died in Paris five years later. The novel he wrote — a blueprint of the totalitarian state, a direct ancestor of \u003cem\u003eBrave New World\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four\u003c\/em\u003e — remained unpublished in the USSR until 1988.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJapan had to wait until 1970. Kawabata Kaori, then a rising authority on Russian literature at the University of Tokyo, produced the first complete Japanese translation. Kodansha published it on April 12, Shōwa 45, in the \u003cem\u003eNovels of Today\u003c\/em\u003e series — a landmark imprint that placed world fiction in front of postwar Japanese readers. The obi announced it plainly: 「幻の名作、ついに完訳！」 — \u003cem\u003eThe legendary masterwork, finally in complete translation.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFive years later, Kodansha issued the text in the celebrated Bunko series. The cover design was entrusted to Kamekura Yūsaku — the graphic designer behind the 1964 Tokyo Olympics poster — with a cover woodblock print by Hamada Tomoaki, one of postwar Japan's most celebrated printmakers, whose works are held in major museum collections worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[IMPORTANT NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: EASY AI TRANSLATION]\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the text is printed in Japanese, you can easily read and study this historic book 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 on your screen layout. Language is no longer a barrier to owning and enjoying this rare piece of international history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[WHY THIS SET IS A PRIZED COLLECTOR'S ITEM]\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. \u003cstrong\u003eThe first complete Japanese translation — both first printings.\u003c\/strong\u003e The 1970 Kodansha edition is the \u003cem\u003ehon'yaku shohon\u003c\/em\u003e (本邦初訳) — the first translation of \u003cem\u003eWe\u003c\/em\u003e into Japanese, as stated on the spine. The 1975 Bunko first printing followed five years later. To hold both first printings together is to hold the entire arc of \u003cem\u003eWe\u003c\/em\u003e in Japan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2. \u003cstrong\u003eTwo giants of Japanese design.\u003c\/strong\u003e The 1970 edition was bound by Tochiorigi Kumiko, the foremost bookbinding artist of her generation. The 1975 Bunko cover was designed by Kamekura Yūsaku — whose visual identity for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics defined Japan's postwar design language — and carries a woodblock print by Hamada Tomoaki on the cover. Both volumes carry fore-edges decorated with concentric circle marbling — an extravagance rarely seen in mass-market publishing of this era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3. \u003cstrong\u003eThe obi speaks.\u003c\/strong\u003e The 1970 obi survived intact — itself a rarity. Its text captures the cultural moment: \u003cem\u003e“The legendary masterwork, finally in complete translation — the testimony of a genius who outpaced his era, filling the gap in twentieth-century literature.”\u003c\/em\u003e The reverse quotes the novel’s own dystopian logic: a society of grey uniforms, glass houses, and pink coupons for sex, where Engineer D-503 dreams of freedom beyond the green wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e[CONDITION]\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood Vintage Condition — Both First Printings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVolume 1 (1970 First Edition):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Obi: Present and intact; light toning consistent with age.\u003cbr\u003e- Covers \u0026amp; Spine: Mondrian-style geometric cover (blue, white, red, black) in very good condition under original vinyl cover. Spine lettering clear; 「本邦初訳」 legible.\u003cbr\u003e- Binding: Tight, secure, and fully intact.\u003cbr\u003e- Interior \u0026amp; Pages: Age-toning (foxing) present on preliminary pages; text pages notably cleaner. Zamyatin portrait frontispiece intact. No tears, no inscriptions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVolume 2 (1975 Bunko First Printing):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Covers \u0026amp; Spine: Orange obi and cover in clean condition; Hamada cover print vivid.\u003cbr\u003e- Binding: Tight and fully intact.\u003cbr\u003e- Interior \u0026amp; Pages: Clean throughout, minimal toning. No tears, no inscriptions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePlease carefully inspect all high-resolution listing photos to verify the vintage condition of both volumes.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"shady2grove","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":65925676925277,"sku":null,"price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1082\/5888\/5981\/files\/IMG_9476.jpg?v=1789452850","url":"https:\/\/shady2grove.com\/products\/zamyatin-we-first-japanese-translation-both-first-printings-1970-first-edition-1975-bunko-kawabata-kaori","provider":"shady2grove","version":"1.0","type":"link"}