During a brief stop in Italy some time ago I purchased on Ebay this set of six 1960s (I think) trading cards by the famous meat extract company, Liebig. The six cards introduce different Japanese performance traditions (Noh, Kabuki, Bunraku), along with recipes and cooking suggestions. Most cards show kabuki-like scenes (rather generic, I think) and Noh-like masks, grotesquely drawn by an amateurish hand – take a look at the ja 蛇 mask (top-right), looking like some kind of deformed alien with antennas sticking out.

This set of cards adds up to my collection of Italian japonisme goods (Japonisme and all its aesthetic paraphernalia did not end at the same time in all Western countries). I wonder whether there is an English version of the same set…

The best part is actually the back of the card. For example the pictured below introduces to Noh (in the box) and explains how to properly re-utilise kitchen leftovers.