"A New Guide to Sado" 🚎 Estimated early Showa 30s (1955-1959), published by Sado Kankosha (Ryotsu City, Niigata Prefecture)

【Introduction to Niigata's Old Paper Ephemera】🧐

"A New Guide to Sado" 🚎
Estimated early Showa 30s
Published by Sado Kankosha (Ryotsu City, Niigata Prefecture)

The cover illustration features a bus guide pointing toward Ogi and Yajima—opening this accordion-folded booklet reveals a panoramic view of Sado Island in the Showa era. 📃
With a color tourist map, photos of famous sites, a historical timeline, illustrated instructions on how to dance the Okesa, and even a stamp collection book, this is a "Showa Sado Pack" that completes your entire Sado trip in one volume.

【Commentary on Contents, etc.】🧐
⚫︎ The greatest appeal of this guide lies in its "physical richness."
Opening the cover reveals a series of accordion-folded pages that contain a color tourist map of Sado Island, black-and-white photos of famous sites, a historical timeline of Sado, illustrated instructions for the Sado Okesa dance, illustrated instructions for the Aikawa Ondo dance, and even a stamp collection book, all integrated into one.
At a price of 80 yen, the density of information is incredible—a volume that shows the true potential of Showa-era tourist printed materials.

⚫︎ The cover illustration depicts a bus guide in a green uniform and hat, guiding visitors with the sea of Ogi and Yajima in the background. It features the clean, tourist-friendly graphic style typical of the Showa era, capturing the "face" of Sado tourism at the time.

⚫︎ The fold-out tourist map of Sado Island is a color-coded map showing tourist routes, regular bus lines, and hiking trails.
Major spots such as Nanaura Coast, Onogame, Futatsugame, Aikawa, Mano, Sado Gold Mine, and Ogi are depicted with charming illustrations, allowing you to grasp the overall picture of Sado tourism in the Showa era at a glance.

⚫︎ The "History of Sado" timeline covers the island's general history from 722 (the first year of Jinki) to 1952 (Showa 27), including exiles, the gold mine, direct shogunate administration, and the development of modern transportation.
It is designed practically, allowing travelers to verify the historical context while on their trip.

⚫︎ The "How to Dance Sado Okesa" and "How to Dance Aikawa Ondo" sections are dance instruction pages that show each movement in numbered order using silhouettes of dancers in kimono.
True to the claim on the cover that it "includes dance instructions," it is designed so that tourists can dance on the spot at their inn or on the beach.
The Showa-era concept of incorporating folk songs and dances into a travel package is fascinating.

⚫︎ The stamp collection book is designed for collecting stamps while visiting shrines, temples, and famous sites on the island.
This shows that the prototype of modern stamp rallies was already being practiced in Sado in the 1950s.

📖 A "cross-section of history" told by paper—in the early Showa 30s, Sado was preparing to welcome many travelers with "Okesa, the Gold Mine, and the Nanaura Coast" as its main attractions.
This small accordion booklet still retains the enthusiasm of an era that tried to welcome tourists with the whole island, as well as the warmth unique to handmade printed materials. 😌

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