About "Picture book Don Quijote" by Keisuke Serizawa

In 1936, Keisuke Serizawa (1895-1984) completed "Picture book Don Quijote". This book was created at the request of Carl Tilden Keller (1872-1955), who wanted a true Japanese version of the Spanish novel "Don Quijote". Serizawa painted Don Quixote in the form of a samurai wearing a kimono with a mage. He replaced other characters and landscapes with Japanese ones. And Serizawa made this book with technique called "Kappa-zuri (Japanese traditional stencil)" and coloring like "Tanroku-bon (Japanese classic books colored in red and green)". He translated "Don Quijote" not only into the characters in the story, but also into the Japanese version of the painting technique. In thought of "Mingei" he believed, beauty was familiarity. Drawing with molds and classic colors were perfect for giving the book a familiar beauty. Following the traditional Japanese patterns and classic colors was perfect for this book as it gives the Japanese the most natural familiarity. Moreover, He thoroughly simplified the lines and colors of paintings in this book. For example, he expressed a person\u27s face with monotonous lines. This is a technique of expressing Yamato-e called "Hikime Kagibana". He certainly expressed the facial expressions of the characters with monotonous lines. Because he had the perception that Japanese traditional designs were simple and straightforward. By challenging the production of "Don Quijote", Serizawa expanded the possibilities of the stencil, which was a great opportunity to show the direction of his work after that