Endō, Kyōzō.

[COLOR THEORY AND PRACTICE IN POST-WAR JAPAN] Iro non rikai [Understanding color].

Tokyo: Zokeisha, 1967. Oblong octavo (13 × 19 cm). Original spiral-bound pictorial wrappers on coated stock, under transparent plastic boards; 158 pp. With colophon tipped in to rear wrapper. Illustrated throughout with numerous charts and diagrams, including a total of thirty-six leaves with tipped-in hand-painted monochromatic and multi-color swatches, primarily showcasing differences in hues and the effects of color combinations. Light discoloration to transparent boards; some foxing throughout and toning to edges; some light offsetting and bleed-through from color swatches; overall very good. Item #55848

Second, expanded edition of this work of color theory and practice which was first published in 1960. Kyōzō Endō (1897–1970) was a Japanese painter trained at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, who also worked as a teacher at the Women's Fine Arts School and exhibited with the Shinkō Yamato-e Kai association in the 1920s. After World War II, he showed his work at numerous solo exhibitions, in addition to authoring books on design, painting, and color theory. According to the preface, the author was fascinated by ways in which color continued to gain greater importance in the post-war period, pointing out its role in making traffic signs more efficient as well as improving factory safety through color-coding, as well as adjusting colors used in schools and hospitals with a view to their effect on the environment. He notes with gratitude that the publisher understood the importance of "showing actual colors, which is an extremely time-consuming process" (p. 2) and that the colors used correspond to the "Japanese chemical standards." The thirty-six leaves of color swatches explain topics such as the physics of color and perception of colorful objects; color contrast and combination based on different criteria, such as hue versus saturation; color temperature; additive and subtractive color mixing; and others.

As of July 2026, KVK, OCLC only trace the 1960 edition at the National Diet Library in Japan.