Takei Takeo

"B. Okaya, Nagano Prefecture. Grad. 1919 in Western-style painting from Tokyo School of Fine Arts. Act. from ca. 1920 as illustrator of children's magazines including _Children's Country (Kodomo no kuni)_ and _Red Horse (Akai uma)_. Founding member of Japan Children's Art Society in 1927. Founder of Han no Kai, a club of 50 people who exchanged self-carved, self-printed New Year cards with other members for more than 20 years. Member of Nihon Hanga Kyôkai from 1944 but did not exhibit with the society. Represented in the 1960 _sôsaku-hanga_ exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute. Contributed to _ichimokushû_. Well known for self-published miniature books, a hobby beginning in 1935, made by woodblock and other print techniques. Had made a total of 266 books by 1980. Honored by Japanese Government with Order of Purple Ribbon in 1959 for his illustrations for children; awarded order of Rising Sun in 1967. Style ranges from detailed illustration to simple abstraction." - _Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints, 1900-1975_, Helen Merritt, Nanako Yamada, University of Hawaii Press, 1992.