Manhoru (Japanese manhole covers) - Thomas Couderc (light wear)

Manhoru by Thomas Couderc / an attractive little 128-page paperback (4.13 x 5.9 inches) with jacket, published by Editions FP&CF in France, ISBN 9791091366342 / the book is mostly images, but there are a few pages of text in French with an English translation  Light tears to the dust jackets, our last copies for 2024 *** Manhoru by Thomas Couderc brings together a collection of Japanese manhole covers. Captured by the author during a trip to Japan, or gleaned later on the internet, this unpublished body of work invites you to discover a subtle art often overlooked in Europe, and particularly in France where access to the sewers is constrained by cast iron plates standardized with sadly and exclusively functional patterns. In Japan, manhorukaba (in Japanese) plays at the sign and tells us stories. The result of a singular political decision, these plaques offer a superlative territorial story: glorious past or successful present, local mascots and legends, remarkable flora, fauna or