Following up on the previous issue, we're delving into children's science magazines. Some readers might feel a bit underwhelmed by the "Secret Treasure Museum" this time, as many of these magazines are aimed at younger children, had shorter lifespans, or are more recent than "Kodomo no Kagaku" or "Kagaku to Gakushu." But don't worry! I have a super-dreadnought treasure (at least in my humble opinion) waiting for you in the latter half.

First up is "Koperu 21" (Kumon Publishing), which ran for about 10 years starting in 1983. (Image 1)
Although the full scope of its dinosaur features isn't clear, they seem to have put a lot of effort into them, with a considerable number of pages. My collection contains about five issues.
● May 1985 issue: "Revived Dinosaurs - Secrets of Paleontological Reconstruction." Discovery of dinosaurs / Reconstructed dinosaurs / Discovery of complete dinosaurs / Dinosaurs reborn as stone / Excavating dinosaurs / Assembling dinosaurs / Exploring dinosaur life / The greatest mystery, dinosaur extinction. A 18-page special.
● October 1986 issue: "The Resurrected Pterosaur QN."
A 10-page report on the flight experiment of a Quetzalcoatlus northropi (QN) robot conducted at the Smithsonian.
● October 1987 issue: "Great Dinosaur Encyclopedia - Full of the Latest Information You Didn't Know." Dinosaur blood was warm! / Striding gracefully on land! / Pterosaurs had fur! And other extensive features across 24 pages.
*In this year, a series of articles collaborated with the NHK program "Chikyu Daikikou" (Great Earth Journey), featuring deformed dinosaur figures on the covers from the January issue (starting with Tyrannosaurus) through to the December issue.
● November 1988 issue: "Excavate Sleeping Dinosaurs! - Report on the Canada-America Dinosaur Fossil Excavation Survey Team." A 16-page report on readers experiencing excavation at Drumheller and Grand Junction.
● November 1992 issue: "The Great Evolution of Earth and Life." The second installment of the special series "Natural History of the Age of Dinosaurs." 18 pages. Although I don't have it, the third installment in the December issue is apparently titled "How Dinosaurs Went Extinct."

The name "Kinderbook" (Fukuinkan Shoten) brings back fond memories for me... I definitely read it in my childhood. However, I don't recall any connections to dinosaurs. This magazine, still published today, was actually an established classic, second only to "Kodomo no Kagaku."

It's said to be Japan's first monthly nursery picture book. While not a science magazine, it occasionally features dinosaur specials. In particular, the dinosaur features in the "Kinderbook Shizen" (Nature) science picture book series are quite comprehensive. (Image 2)
● December 1968 issue: "Creatures of Long Ago."
All pages feature spreads, showcasing brilliant dinosaur artwork by Kiyoshi Shimizu, a leading dinosaur artist of the time.
● December 1978 issue (Shizen): "Dinosaurs."
A unique dinosaur encyclopedia using monochrome diorama photos of models.
● August 1997 issue (Shizen): "Dinosaurs."
The content was completely revamped from the 1987 edition, becoming a dinosaur encyclopedia with color illustrations.
● January 2005 issue (Shizen): "Dinosaurs."
Elaborately designed, contrasting skeletal photos with illustrations in the same pose. Troodons and Velociraptors are covered in feathers.
● January 2007 issue: "The World of Dinosaurs."
This is a roughly 5-page special feature in the regular Kinderbook.
● November 2013 issue (Shizen): "Dinosaurs and Ancient Creatures." In addition to dinosaurs, extinct mammals also appear.

*Nursery picture books are reportedly books distributed directly to kindergartens and daycare centers. Come to think of it, my distant memories might have been from kindergarten after all...

Fukuinkan Shoten's monthly magazine for toddlers, "Kagaku no Tomo," also still published today, isn't well-documented on Wikipedia, but their back issues on Fukuinkan Shoten's website go back to 1969. The June 1971 issue, "Okka Zoo Map," is about drawing maps, and the zoo features mammoths and sauropods. I only have two other issues: the January 2005 issue, "The Story of the Dinosaur That Became a Bird," and the March 2013 issue, "How Big Were Dinosaurs?" However, judging from the covers of other back issues, there don't seem to be any other books featuring dinosaurs. Only three books in 50 years! That's surprising. (Image 3)

Also published by Fukuinkan Shoten is "Takusan no Fushigi" (Many Mysteries), which was initially labeled as "Kagaku no Tomo Elementary School Edition." The fifth issue, August 1985, was "Dinosaur Excavation Record," which used beautiful illustrations to introduce Dr. Yoshikazu Hasegawa's dinosaur excavation in Madagascar.
The September 1987 issue was "Winged Dinosaurs," a special feature on Archaeopteryx and pterosaurs. The July 1999 issue, titled "River Flowing Through Time," explored the history of life from excavated fossils by tracing the Horoshin Tachibetsu River in Hokkaido upstream. Mosasaurs and plesiosaurs also appear. The January 2000 issue was "Legend of the Giant Bird," a story about Aepyornis and moa. (Image 3)

Other children's science magazines from the Showa era (Image 4)
● "Kagaku Yomiuri" (Yomiuri Shimbunsha) April 1955 issue: "Visiting the Lost World - The Story of Dinosaurs."
It was probably for children as it was a supplementary reader for science and social studies, but the actual copy is in Gunma and I cannot confirm it. It was supposed to contain quite detailed explanations of each dinosaur, but...
● "Sunchild" (Child Honsha) September 1978 issue: "Dinosaurs." An entire issue dedicated to dinosaurs. It featured full-page spreads of dinosaur models by Arthur Hayward, which were popular at the time (see also New Hihokan Vol. 41), and at the end of the book, there was an introduction to "parks with dinosaurs." From top to bottom: Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya, Nishirokugo Park in Tokyo, Miho Culture Land in Shimizu, and Calgary Zoo.
● "Yasashii Doubutsutachi" (Sanrio) January 1989 issue: "Exploring the Secrets of Dinosaurs!" This magazine, subtitled "Junior Magazine for Animal Lovers," was, according to a search of the National Diet Library, published starting January 1988, but its final issue is unknown, making it a mysterious magazine. This issue, published about a year before the National Museum of Nature and Science's Maiasaura exhibition, featured a color special of about 25 pages at the beginning, also touching on parenting, but the illustrations were of a transitional period with tails partially raised. And the publication date was January 1st (though it was likely released earlier). Heisei was to begin on the 8th. There were a few other books published in January, such as the famous Bakker's "Dinosaur Heresies" and Gakken's "Latest Dinosaur Theories," but since they are in Gunma, I cannot pinpoint their exact publication dates. It is possible that this book was the last dinosaur book of the Showa era.

Later children's science magazines (Image 5)
● The aforementioned Sunchild, renamed and reformatted as "Sunchild Big Science," is still being published. Dinosaur special issues are frequently featured. "Are Dinosaurs Big?" (September 1999) / "Dinosaur Number One" (December 2003) / "Dinosaurs Were Alive" (January 2008) / "Once Upon a Time Dinosaurs Were Alive!" (August 2010) / "The World Where Dinosaurs Lived" (June 2012) / "Dinosaurs That Lived Long Ago" (September 2016)
● "Kagaku Land" (Sekai Bunka Publishing) is said to have been published since 1975, so there are likely other dinosaur features, but I only have two issues: "Were Dinosaurs Really Real?" (August 2001) and "The Secret of Dinosaurs" (July 2005), which features the "Sue" exhibition that came to Japan.
● "Hatena? Hakken Book - Challenge 2nd Grade" (Benesse Corporation)
"Book of Dinosaurs and Fossils" (November 2005) / "Dinosaurs" (November 2011) / "The Secret of Dinosaurs" (October 2015). For some reason, all the "Challenge" magazines I have are for 2nd graders, but since there are books for other grades, there must be many more dinosaur features.
● The January 2006 issue of "Kagaku no Tamago" (Gakken Plus) features "Exploring the World of Dinosaurs." It comes with a 1/35 scale Tyrannosaurus skeleton model as a bonus.
● "Weekly Kagaku-Kuru" (Asahi Shimbun)
"Is It True That Dinosaurs Aren't Extinct!?" (February 2005) / "What Was the King of the Skies in the Age of Dinosaurs, the Pterosaur!?" (April 2008) / "Panic! What If a Dinosaur Appeared at Your School!?" (June 2008) / "Earth's Greatest Mystery! Chase the Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction!" (August 2008) / "Was Tyrannosaurus the Strongest Dinosaur?" (April 2012) / "Did Giant Reptiles Live in the Sea in Ancient Times?" (August 2012) / "What Was the Largest Dinosaur?" (September 2012)

*Although they are expensive, costing around 2000 yen, and I'm not sure if they can be called magazines, "Doraemon Fushigi no Science Vol. 10" (May 2013) and "Doraemon Motto Fushigi no Science Vol. 7" (May 2015), published by Epoch Co., are packed with content, including "Dinosaur is Alive! Tyrannosaurus Skeleton Excavation Kit" and "Legend of the Strongest Creature, Anomalocaris Excavation Kit." They also come with Doraemon mini-figures.

Now, it's time to boast about my treasures.

Primeval World

In the previous two installments of the Secret Treasure Museum, I mentioned that encountering dinosaur articles in pre-war magazines felt like an act of God. But then I came up with a keyword and searched online for old books, and unexpectedly hit the jackpot (and ended up spending more than I intended). That keyword was "Primeval World" (前世界). Come to think of it, Dr. Matashiro Yokoyama, the father of Japanese dinosaur studies, also used "Primeval World" and "Primeval History" in his writings (New Secret Treasure Museum Vol. 6), and Doyle's "The Lost World" was also translated with titles like "Tales of the Primeval World" and "Exploration of the Primeval World" (New Secret Treasure Museum Vol. 30). "Primeval World"... It's a word you don't encounter much anymore, but for me, it evokes a sense of awe and a dreamlike quality, more so than "prehistoric era," for instance. It sends shivers down my spine.

Last year, I found the May 1920 issue of "Shonen" (Jiji Shinposha). The subtitle "Primeval World Issue" caught my eye, and at 3000 yen, I bought it without hesitation. The content exceeded my expectations, with a 4-page science article introducing dinosaurs titled "The Age of Lizards," as well as "Plants of the Primeval World" (2 pages) and "Humans of the Primeval World" (4 pages). Furthermore, it even included a science adventure novel, "When Apes Became Human," featuring primitive boy Ban and Gem as protagonists. And each of these features came with a color gravure insert at the beginning!
Encouraged by this, I continued my search and just recently found the April 1912 issue. "Giant Animals of the Primeval World" from the book description on the website caught my attention. But the price was 18,000 yen! As expected, after agonizing for several days, I convinced myself with thoughts like, "If I don't buy this, it will be lost to the mists of history forever... This would be a loss for the Japanese dinosaur world! It's the last magazine of the Meiji era..." and ended up spending a large sum of money. As for the content, it featured 4 pages of color gravure photos introducing life-sized models of ancient creatures from the famous German Hagenbeck Zoo (listed as Kaal Hagenbeck Zoo), along with a 3-page explanatory article titled "Giant Animals of Prehistory." The photos were beautiful, but the content was rather ordinary.
Nevertheless, a record of dinosaurs from the last year of Meiji is extremely valuable, and I was so relieved to have bought it... but it didn't end there. In fact, the same old bookstore had another issue of "Shonen" with a dinosaur article, the June issue of the same year. This was the genuine last dinosaur article of the Meiji era (Taisho era began on July 30th), and it was even written by the pioneer Dr. Matashiro Yokoyama, titled "The Great Monsters of the Primeval World: Diplodocus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Compsognathus." And with a price of 18,000 yen, I had no choice but to agonize over it again. Please look forward to future developments.

For now, please take a look at the dinosaurs in the issues of "Shonen" I currently possess.

(Image 6) shows the covers of the April 1912 issue of "Shonen" and the 1920 "Primeval World Issue," as well as the science article "The Age of Lizards" from the "Primeval World Issue," which introduces Mesozoic reptiles. Incidentally, the 1912 version explains the Mesozoic era as "Mezozoikum, that is, the medieval era," which is a somewhat baffling description.

(Image 7) and (Image 8) are the gravure photos from the April 1912 issue, "Four Giant Animals of the Primeval World." Plesiosaurus / Iguanodon / Ancestor of Birds (three birds in the upper right. The commentary doesn't mention Archaeopteryx, but instead mystically refers to Archaeopteryx lithographica. It also mentions the London and Berlin specimens and their purchase prices. London: approximately 6,500 yen. Berlin: approximately 10,000 yen!) / Giant Dragonflies (トンボ - dragonfly - is written with such kanji! For some reason, it's also noted as Menoira).

(Image 9) shows the gravure of Gigantosaurus from the "Primeval World Issue." The caption below the photo reads, "Can you not see how immense it is compared to the crocodile next to it?" Indeed, a crocodile can be seen at its feet. The main article, "The Age of Lizards," does not mention Gigantosaurus. Instead, the Diplodocus, which appears next to the title, is explained in detail. Other creatures explained, Iguanodon and Plesiosaurus, along with Pteranodon, are accompanied by photographs of models from Hagenbeck Zoo... and suddenly the names are more modern. Ichthyosaurus is also introduced with an illustration.

(Image 10) also from the "Primeval World Issue," shows a gravure titled "Primeval Humans Fighting Bears" (from "Humans of the Primeval World"... the cave bear is rather small) and an illustration from the novel "When Apes Became Human."

There's another children's magazine from the Taisho era that I'm curious about. I found it using the keyword "primeval world" as well: a novel titled "Secret Realm Beyond Humanity: Primeval World" was serialized in a magazine called "Ryoyu" (Kodomo-sha) around 1922-1923. I wonder if it's a "Lost World" story featuring dinosaurs. Since it's about as expensive as "Shonen," I don't have the courage to buy it just to see.