Ehon Don Kihōte by Serizawa Keisuke: Don Quixote as a bridge between cultures

Abstract

The year 1937, the Japanese artist Serizawa Keisuke published an illustrated edition of the Spanish and World literature masterpiece, Sir Quixote of La Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes, under the title Ehon Don Kihōte (or Illustrated Book of Don Quixote). This Japanese illustrated book is a cultural adaptation of the cervantine work to the Japanese cultural context. In this article we will pay close attention to the context in which Serizawa produced this work, which started as a private commission and withing the Mingei movement. It is an example of how exchanges and interactions between cultures can become very useful tools to establish friendship ties, extend mutual understanding and instill admiration between citizens of distant and different cultures.