Stories of a Fortunate Rat (Komochi nezumi hana no yamauba 持子鼠花山姥) : [volume 1]
An 1827 Japanese illustrated storybook in woodblock print, volume one, published in Osaka by Kawachiya Heishichi and written by Akatsuki Kanenari for popular readers. Its pages pair framed columns of cursive text with full-spread colour scenes of courtly and domestic life in which the characters are anthropomorphic rats in traditional dress. A designer could draw on the flat pastel palette, the bold blossom and pine framing, and the way architecture is cut away to reveal interior rooms.
![Picture 1 of 3 from Stories of a Fortunate Rat (Komochi nezumi hana no yamauba 持子鼠花山姥) : [volume 1] (1827), leaf 9](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_9494-9-1.webp)
![Picture 2 of 3 from Stories of a Fortunate Rat (Komochi nezumi hana no yamauba 持子鼠花山姥) : [volume 1] (1827), leaf 12](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_9494-12-1.webp)
![Picture 3 of 3 from Stories of a Fortunate Rat (Komochi nezumi hana no yamauba 持子鼠花山姥) : [volume 1] (1827), leaf 15](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_9494-15-1.webp)