Tatebanko – Japanese Paper Dioramas

Do you know tatebanko? Well I’m pretty clued up on Japanese culture, but I had no idea what it was until recently. Apparently it is an almost forgotten art of creating scenic dioramas using paper and clever use of perspective. It was popular in Japan during the 17th Century (Edo Period) till the 19th century and then pretty much disappeared.

Now a company in Japan is reviving it, with beautiful little kits to put together your own tatebanko’s.

They launched with a series of ones based on famous Japanese ukiyo-e artists – Hiroshige and Hokusai.
And now they’ve  got a series based on Tezuka Osamu comics, yes my friends – ASTRO BOY!

And they look retro freaking fantastic.

And being paper of course, they aren’t very expensive. I’ve already ordered three.

In Japan get them direct from Tatebanko.
Anywhere else, you can buy them from Via Alley.

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