Happy New Year... though it's already February. This year, I'm once again going full steam ahead on the dinosaur path.

 

With the New Year's greetings, I inadvertently opened Pandora's Box and unleashed the boundless dinosaurs from Shogakukan's grade-specific learning magazines.

 

Until now, the Treasure House has featured dinosaurs from "Showa Shonen Manga Magazines" (Vol.40/41) and "Children's Science Magazines" (Vol.45/46), and I also introduced dinosaurs from Showa-era magazines in my humble book "Showa Tondemo Kyoryu Taizen," which was published last year. The only reason I had barely touched the dinosaurs from Shogakukan's grade-specific magazines was simply because I was intimidated by their immense volume. While rival Gakken's "〇-nen no Gakushu" and "〇-nen no Kagaku" (my dinosaur check for these is also incomplete...) eventually ran out of steam, and Kodansha's "Tanoshimi 〇-nensei" was discontinued in the early 60s, Shogakukan's "Shogaku 〇-nensei" (now just "Shogaku Ichinensei" and "Shogaku Hachinensei") still graces bookstore shelves every month, and dinosaurs have been featured frequently lately.

This is what "Shogakukan's Grade-Specific Learning Magazines" are like: wikipedia >>

 Searching for dinosaur articles within these grade-specific magazines, which have continued uninterrupted from the Taisho era to the present, is like finding a Mesozoic mammal tooth in the Gobi Desert.

What I can report this time are books from the 50s onwards, and even then, there are many gaps and imperfections from the 80s onwards. Nevertheless, the number of feature articles, supplementary booklets, and attached assembly models easily exceeds 50. But even this may still be just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, I'm not thinking of collecting them all, but I feel I must continue checking because unexpected discoveries sometimes occur.

 

For now, I've listed the dinosaur-related issues I've identified. I will reveal the ones I own later.

*Shogaku 〇-nensei ×-gatsu-go will be abbreviated as Sho 〇 ×.

 

1952 (Showa 27)

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Dec. Appendix [Monoshiri Zukai Hōten] (Knowledge Pictorial Encyclopedia)

1953

〇Shogaku 4th Grade May Appendix [Gakushu Zukai Hōten] (Learning Pictorial Encyclopedia)

1954

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade May Appendix [Kirei na Dōbutsu Album] (Beautiful Animal Album)

〇Shogaku 6th Grade Sept. Appendix [Rika Zukai Hōten] (Science Pictorial Encyclopedia)

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Apr. - '55/3 Serialized [Prehistoric Boy Sapin]

1955

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Apr. - '56/3 Serialized [Prehistoric Boy Sapin]

1956 (Showa 31)

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Apr. - '57/3 Serialized [Prehistoric Boy Sapin]

1957

〇Shogaku 6th Grade Apr. - 5 Serialized [Prehistoric Boy Sapin]

1962

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Dec. [Mystery Dinosaur Kingdom]

1963

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade June [Creatures of Ancient Times]

1964

〇Shogaku 5th Grade July Appendix [World Wonders 2]

1966

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Jan. Appendix [Goro's Adventure]

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Nov. [All About Dinosaurs]

1967

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Jan. [Mystery Dinosaur Kingdom]

〇Shogaku 6th Grade Oct. [Animals of the Prehistoric Era]

1968

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Apr. Appendix [World Dinosaur Encyclopedia]

1969

〇Shogaku 4th Grade June [Mystery Dinosaur Kingdom]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Sept. [Great Dinosaur Pictorial]

1970

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Jan. Appendix [Assembly Dinosaur Brontosaurus (Paper Kit)]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade May Appendix [The Birth of Humanity]

〇Shogaku 2nd Grade July Appendix [Shining Tower of the Sun]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Aug. [Great Dinosaur Pictorial]

1971

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Jan. Appendix [Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book]

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Apr. Appendix [Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade May Appendix [The Birth of Humanity]

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Sept. Appendix [Assembly Dinosaur Tyrannosaurus (Paper Kit)]

1972

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Apr. Appendix [From Apes to Humans]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Aug. Appendix [Rare and Mysterious Creatures of the World]

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Aug. Appendix [Assembly Dinosaur Tyrannosaurus (Paper Kit)]

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Sept. Appendix [Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book]

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Oct. Appendix [Giant Mammoth Model (Paper Kit)]

1973

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Apr. Appendix [Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book]

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Oct. [Digging for Monsters in the Gobi Desert!]

〇Shogaku 4th Grade Nov. Appendix [Jumbo Dragonfly Assembly Paper Airplane]

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Dec. [Age of Dinosaurs]

1974

〇Shogaku 3rd Grade Jan. Appendix [Assembly Dinosaur Stegosaurus (Paper Kit)]

〇Shogaku 5th Grade Nov. [Mystery of Dinosaurs]

1976

〇Shogaku 2nd Grade Sept. [World of Giant Dinosaurs]

〇Shogaku 1st Grade Oct. [Dinosaur Champion]

〇Shogaku 2nd Grade Nov. [Secrets of the Dinosaur Exploration Team Born Free]

*Nov. - '77/3 Manga "Dinosaur Exploration Team Born Free" serialized in Shogaku 1st Grade and Shogaku 2nd Grade.

1977

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 11 [Science Special Feature: Dinosaurs]

1979

〇 Shosan (3rd Grader) 4 [Big Color: Dinosaurs]

〇 Shoroku (6th Grader) 5 Supplement [Doraemon Masterpiece Comic - TV Adaptation Commemoration]

1980

〇 Shiyo (4th Grader) 1 [The Age of Dinosaurs]

1981

〇 Shosan (3rd Grader) 8 [Dinosaurs of Japan]

1988

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 6 [Tyrannosaurus]

1989 (Heisei 1)

〇 Shoni (2nd Grader) 9 Supplement [Dinosaur Mini Encyclopedia]

1990

〇 Shoni (2nd Grader) 7 Supplement [Giant Dinosaur Picture Book]

〇 Shoroku (6th Grader) 7 Supplement [The Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction]

1992

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 9 [What's the Difference Between Godzilla and Dinosaurs?]

1995

〇 Shogo (5th Grader) 5 [Excavating a Super Giant Dinosaur!]

2001

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 7 [Wonder Color: Great Dinosaur Battle]

2002

〇 Shoni (2nd Grader) 4 Supplement [Seismosaurus Figure]

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 8 [Dinosaur Discovery, Great Adventure]

2005

〇 Shoni (2nd Grader) 8 Supplement ["Sue" Official Figure]

2011

〇 Shosan (3rd Grader) 8 [Witness Dinosaurs This Summer!]

〇 Shiyo (4th Grader) 8 [Unraveling Dinosaur Life!]

2018

〇 Sho8 Early Summer Issue [Dinosaur Talk! Mana Ashida x Professor Kobayashi ]

2019 (Reiwa 1)

〇 Sho8・8/9 [Dinosaur Expo 2019]

2020

〇 Sho8・4/5 [Dinosaur Verification]

〇 Sho8・10/11 Supplement [Tyrannosaurus Full Skeleton Plastic Model]

〇 Shoichi (1st Grader) 10 [Dinosaur Skeleton Plastic Model (Triceratops)]

2021

〇 Sho8・10/11 Supplement [Pteranodon Full Skeleton Plastic Model]

 

Among the above, I will introduce what I have.

 

"Illustrated Encyclopedia Series"

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・Shogo (5th Grader) Supplement [Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knowledge] 1952/12 p7

・Shoroku (6th Grader) Supplement [Illustrated Science Encyclopedia] 1954/9 p14.p15

・Shosan (3rd Grader) Supplement [Beautiful Animal Album] 1954/5 Page not listed

 

The Illustrated Encyclopedia is like an illustrated general knowledge dictionary, with content covering a wide range of genres, and only a very small amount of dinosaur explanations. "Monoshiri" has one page on "Chronological Table of Biological Evolution." "Gakushu" and others have magnificent dinosaurs on the front and back covers, but the content does not mention them at all. "Rika" (Science) had a 4-page article explaining "Ancient Creatures" which was a great find. The "Illustrated Encyclopedia Series" seems to have been included as supplements in several issues in the early 1950s, but the full scope is unknown. "Kirei na Doubutsu" (Beautiful Animals) is a mini animal encyclopedia (with a gimmick where opening it from the back reveals a vehicle encyclopedia), and dinosaurs appear as ancient animals on the first page. While these supplements rarely mention dinosaurs, the illustrations are all charming.

 

"Prehistoric Boy Sapin"

・Shiyo (4th Grader) 1954/4 p67 /5 p67 /7 p51 /9 p27 1955/1 p67 /2 p287

・Shogo (5th Grader) 1955/9 p47.p48.p50.p52.p53.p54 1956/1 p315～p321

 

This is one of the "unexpected discoveries" I recently encountered. The author, Soji Yamakawa, is a giant of illustrated stories known for "Shonen Kenya" (New Dinosaur Treasure House Vol.28/29) and "Shonen Oja." Dinosaurs also appear in both "Kenya" and "Oja," but both are set in modern Africa, with dinosaurs inhabiting subterranean worlds and remote lakes.

 

This "Sapin" was serialized from the April 1954 issue of Shogaku San-nensei (Elementary School Third Grader) to the May 1957 issue of Shogaku Roku-nensei (Elementary School Sixth Grader), for a total of 3 years and 2 months. There is no trace of it ever being published as a standalone book, making it an extremely rare work that was only read by those who subscribed continuously from the 3rd grade in 1954 until the 6th grade. As of now, I have only managed to collect 8 out of the total 38 episodes, so I only have a rough idea of the story, but it seems to be something like this.

 

The story is set in the Paleolithic era, 1 million years ago. Sapin seems to be a smooth-skinned mutant boy born among Homo Erectus (though not explicitly stated in the text), and he travels with a girl named Yukime, who has a sapiens-like appearance. The biological research is well done, and it's not a lawless state of dinosaurs from 1 million years ago. Dinosaurs appear in the latter half of the serialization, in the fifth grade issues, as inhabitants of a lost world island where the two have washed ashore. Until then, in the serialization from the third to fourth grade, they are consistently attacked by Pleistocene creatures. In the six issues of Shiyo (4th Grader) that I have, super monitor lizards like Megalania and giant crocodiles appear. In the opening "story so far," mammoths and saber-toothed tigers (kibadora) are also mentioned. An exception is a scene where they are attacked by a giant placoderm similar to Dunkleosteus (referred to as Coccosteus in the text, but according to Wikipedia, Coccosteus is a small placoderm less than 50cm long). However, the author justifies it by citing the discovery of the coelacanth (which happened just 2 years before this serialization!).

 

I only have two copies of the Shogo (5th Grader) issues, so I don't know the episodes on the dinosaur island. However, the dinosaur illustrations, especially the scene of the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops confrontation drawn like stop-motion animation, are superb. Sapin watches the Triceratops mother and child leave after their father has been defeated... What will happen next? I want to see more Yamakawa dinosaurs!

I guess I'll just have to diligently check Yahoo! Auctions and used book websites.

 

*I found the opening page of Sapin's first episode (April 1954, Shosan (3rd Grader) issue) online. The history of life is briefly told in the column below a surprisingly cool Tyrannosaurus, and the next page depicts Sapin's upbringing as mentioned above.

 

Mystery Dinosaur Kingdom

This is an irregular serialization of Conan Doyle's "The Lost World" from the 1960s. Different artists illustrated it in various styles, including manga and illustrated stories. For more details, please refer to New Treasure House Vol.62/63. Since I collect translated editions of "The Lost World," I spare no expense if I find a newly published issue...

 

1960s Supplement Booklets

Image 3

・Shosan (3rd Grader) Supplement [Goro's Adventure] 1966/1 p4.p18

・Shosan (3rd Grader) Supplement [World Dinosaur Encyclopedia] 1968/4 p4.p5

 

"Sekai no Fushigi 2" (Wonders of the World 2) ('64) has a section titled "Dinosaurs All Lined Up" spanning 4 pages. I don't know what's in "Fushigi 1" (Wonders 1).

 

"Goro's Adventure" ('66), see here first.

However, what I have is the supplement from the January 1966 issue of Shogaku San-nensei (Elementary School Third Grader)... It's a mystery.

Regarding manga featuring dinosaurs published in grade-specific magazines, there's no way to investigate them other than by chance discovery. Recently, I learned that the TV series "Dinosaur Expedition Bonefree" and other dinosaur trilogy works were serialized as manga, but I haven't acquired a single copy.

 

"Sekai Kyoryu Jiten" (World Dinosaur Encyclopedia) ('68)

It's a collection of three stories: the manga "Inu wa Miteita" (The Dog Was Watching) and "Dr. Pinch's Why and What Q&A," so it's only 17 pages and the content is somewhat lacking. The cover, however, is quite impactful.

 

Color Picture Book Series

Image 4

・Shiyo (4th Grader) Supplement [The Birth of Humanity] 1970/5 p14.p15

・Shogaku San Nensei (Third Grader) Appendix [Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book] 1971/1 p20.p21

 

This paperback-sized series is packed with content, featuring many color pages and detailed explanations, making it a comprehensive picture book.

 

The Shogaku Yonensei (Fourth Grader) appendix "The Birth of Humanity" ( '70/'71) and "From Ape to Human" ('72) contain identical content. Dr. Nobuo Naora, famous for discovering the Akashi Man, supervised them.

 

Another Fourth Grader appendix, "Rare and Strange Animals of the World," featuring Dimetrodon on the cover, dedicates a significant number of pages to the history of animals.

 

The supervisor for the Third Grader appendix "Monster and Dinosaur Picture Book" ('71-'73) was Dr. Hiroshi Ozaki, who worked at the National Science Museum at the time and was also involved with Godzilla. The title is somewhat misleading, as monsters only account for 24 pages out of a total of 112 pages. The rest is a very in-depth explanation of dinosaurs. The dinosaur content is consistent across all years, but the monster content seems to have been updated slightly.

 

Paper Model Dinosaurs

Image 5

An appendix from the early 70s. This photo is what the editor sent me for " Showa Tondemo Dinosaur Encyclopedia" - a copy of the appendix paper model, assembled before processing, to serve as a reference for writing the article. The book features beautifully laid out and stunning photos, which, even as the author, brings a smile to my face. If you haven't seen it yet, please do.

 

Paper Model: Tower of the Sun

The original was an appendix from the July 1970 issue of Shogaku Ni Nensei (Second Grader), but this is a reproduction from the 2005 "Timeslip Showa Exhibition." I only recently managed to get my hands on it. What I was after in the Tower of the Sun was, of course, the "Tree of Life" housed inside. This paper model, when viewed from the back, reproduces the Tree of Life, albeit drawn, like a phylogenetic tree. Although it's a treasure, it's a reproduction, so I didn't hesitate to build it this time. The illustration is quite impressive, even depicting people ascending on escalators. The "glowing animals" in the bottom left are meant to be cut out and inserted into the tree, but unfortunately, they no longer glow and don't look very good, so I left them as is.

 

Actually, I've never seen the real Tree of Life, so I'm thinking of going to see it once the coronavirus situation calms down.

 

Showa-era Dinosaur Feature Articles

Image 7

From top left:

Shogaku San Nensei (Third Grader) 1963/06 p27-p29 "Creatures of Ancient Times"

Shogaku San Nensei (Third Grader) 1966/11 p52.p53.p58 "All About Dinosaurs"

Shogaku Yonensei (Fourth Grader) 1970/08 p17.p22.p23 "Grand Illustrated Report on Dinosaurs"

Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 1976/10 p14.p15 "Dinosaur Champion"

Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 1977/11 p11-p13 "Science Feature: Dinosaurs"

Shogaku San Nensei (Third Grader) 1979/04 p25-p27 "Big Color: Dinosaurs"

Shogaku Yonensei (Fourth Grader) 1980/01 p25-p27 "The Age of Dinosaurs"

Shogaku San Nensei (Third Grader) 1981/08 p15.p18.p19 "Dinosaurs of Japan"

These pages are filled with charming Showa-era dinosaur illustrations, neither as sensational as boys' manga magazines nor as purely educational as science magazines, but hitting a sweet spot. This is all I have in my collection, but there are 10 more that I know of but haven't purchased yet, and countless others I don't even know about...

 

Heisei-era Dinosaur Features

We've suddenly warped past the Renaissance. The period in between is a future project.

 

Shogaku Ni Nensei (Second Grader) 1989/09 Appendix "Dinosaur Mini Encyclopedia"

*Features photos of dinosaur models by Mr. Araki.

 

Shogaku Ni Nensei (Second Grader) 1990/07 Appendix "Giant Dinosaur Picture Book"

*A huge 55x76cm poster. It depicts Quetzalcoatlus, Maiasaura, and other popular dinosaurs of the time at 1/50 scale.

 

Shogaku Roku Nensei (Sixth Grader) 1990/07 Appendix "The Mystery of Dinosaur Extinction"

*A full-fledged educational manga with 96 pages, including the "Latest Dinosaur Report" at the end.

 

Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 1992/09 p11 "What's the Difference Between Godzilla and Dinosaurs?"

*Can you see the T-Rex at Godzilla's feet? Heisei Godzilla is said to be 100m tall.

 

Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 2001/07 p40.p41 "Wonder Color: Great Dinosaur Battle"

*Who knew Shamosaurus and Puwiangosaurus would be the main characters!

 

Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 2002/08 p42 "Dinosaur Discovery, Great Adventure"

*A report on Seismosaurus, the star of the "World's Largest Dinosaur Exhibition 2002."

 

Shogaku Ni Nensei (Second Grader) 2002/04 Appendix Seismosaurus and Shogaku Ni Nensei (Second Grader) 2005/08 Appendix Tyrannosaurus "Sue" figures. The Seismosaurus is from Choco La Saurus, but it's an original version with spikes on its back. For more details on this, please refer to the following website.

Sue is identical to the miniature version of the Kaiyodo official model from "Dinosaur Expo 2005" (distributed as a non-sale item), but the paint job is different.

 

Reiwa-era Dinosaur Figure Appendices

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Shogaku Hachi Nensei (Eighth Grader) 2020 October/November issue appendix "Tyrannosaurus Skeleton Plastic Model" and Shogaku Ichi Nensei (First Grader) 2020 September issue appendix "Triceratops Skeleton Plastic Model"

*These have already appeared in New Treasure House of Dinosaurs Vol. 56, but this time I tried to recreate a scene from Sapin.

 Image 10

Shogaku Hachi Nensei (Eighth Grader) 2021 October/November issue appendix "Pteranodon Full Skeleton Plastic Model"

*Originally, the skeleton is meant to be covered with clear parts as shown in the cover photo, but I dared to paint only half of it, and it turned out quite well.

 

Just as this draft was almost complete, I found two copies of Shogaku Go Nensei (Fifth Grader) online at a used bookstore that seemed to feature Sapin's dinosaurs, but they were 5,500 yen each! It's a tough decision.