A New TdM was born in Japan: Tarot de Marseille ISIS Version

[kenji]

Hello there
Today I will introduce to you a small proof that "JAPAN IS ALIVE"...

Only recently, a Japanese philosopher Mr Tadahiro Onuma has published his own 78-card TdM deck, "Tarot de Marseille ISIS Version", which is a unique TdM remake mainly besed on Nicolas Conver. ( He owns a genuine 19th-century Conver deck. )

This new deck is, I guarantee, simply "charming". Just have a look at the sample images at the bottom (NOTE: they are from 2009 1st edition).
To describe its basic concept, I will quote the comments written on the introduction card in full:

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Tarot de Marseille ISIS Version

The Tarot de Marseille is part of a World Heritage in which a spiritual tradition of Southern Europe has successfully been preserved and cultivated since ancient times. It is like a museum on paper where mystical wisdom from ancient Egypt, the Orient, Greece, India and the Celtic and Jewish traditions can be found hidden in symbolism. It is you who will discover the inherent value that resides within the cards.

The oldest Tarot de Marseille can be traced back to the beginning of the 17th Century. It is said that Francois Chosson's 1672 version defined the basic structures of this particular tarot, and all versions of the Tarot de Marseille after that one include the following characteristics:

1. The proportion of the card is always the equivalent of two equilateral squares joined.

2. There are frames at the top and bottom of each Major Arcana card, containing a Roman numeral at the top and the name of the card in French at the bottom.

3. The number frame for the Le Mat card is blank and the Arcana XIII has no name frame.

4. Each image is depicted in a geometrical composition consisting of three circles, two squares, two triangles and two pentagrams.

One hundred years after Chosson, the Conver version was published in 1760. In the 250 years since, it has become the de facto standard of the Tarot de Marseille.

A wealth of esoteric teachings are embedded in the composition, colors and numbers of this tarot. THe colors of the Conver version are green, blue, red, yellow and light blue, symbolizing respectively, earth, water, fire, air and ether of the 5 elements, plus flesh. The ISIS version restores these colors as faithfully as possible.

The Conver version was made with wooden block prints, representing each image two dimensionally. The ISIS version presents the images in third dimension. THe ISIS version includes contemporary technology and Japanese aesthetics, making it the most beautiful Tarot de Marseille in the world.

(C) ISIS 2010

( BTW "ISIS" stands for "The Institute of Study on Initiation and Symbolism", of which Mr Onuma is the Director.)

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Produced by Tadahiro Onuma, Published by ISIS, 2009

[Bernice]

Kenji! Such lovely clear lines and colours.

Do you know if this deck will this be available from somewhere like Amazon UK?
I went to the link but cannot read japanese.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Bee

[gregory]

Lovely ! How can we order this - would you consider being an intermediary ?

[cardlady22]

Please let me know how to order a copy also.

[OnePotato]

Ah!
Very nice!
My compliments to Mr Onuma.

[kenji]

Hi there, thank you for your having an interest
Especially gregory: I knew you would find it appetizing...

Mr Onuma is preparing an e-shopping site in English, but it may take a little time.
For those in haste, he is accepting orders via email.
The price is a sum equivalent to 3,150 JPY, plus S/H. PayPal payment is OK.

And some more images...(NOTE: They are from 2009 1st edition)



Produced by Tadahiro Onuma, Published by ISIS, 2009

[Moonbow]

Very clear and beautiful images Kenji, and so good to see a new Marseilles on the market. So good of you to show us half of the Majors to get our appetites going! The green is especially noticeable, and the Fool has his flesh torn.

Mr Onuma is clearly very talented. A colourful and bright Marseilles like this will surely appeal to the discerning Tarotist.

[Melanchollic]

Is that a bee on the Fortitude card? Is she going to force that poor lion to eat a bee!?

[cronegoddess54]

Originally Posted by Melanchollic

Is that a bee on the Fortitude card? Is she going to force that poor lion to eat a bee!?

Wow! Sure looks like it doesn't it?? Interesting..hmmm

[photokat]

I immediately placed an order - gorgeous deck! So excited!