This full-length translation was published by Popura Shabunko in 1986 - no doubt the publication was inspired by the success of Disney's Return to Oz film in Japan. This book is part of a series of Baum Oz books similar to the better known Hayakawa series. These book are a bit taller - closer in size to mass-market paperbacks. This edition is illustrated in black and white. While it is a paperback, it does come in a full-color dust jacket.
Below you can see a sample of the fairly cute illustrations. I really like the detail visible in the lunch pail.
Below you can see the highly robotic Tik-Tok from the back cover of the dust wrapper. More Ozma of Oz next Saturday!
I'm not so sure that the pubication of this edition had much to do with the coming out of Return to Oz in 1986. Propura Sha had already put out the wizard of oz (in 1977 it think) and land of oz by this point, and they continued on as far as at least Scarecrow nad probably as far as Lost Princess. Based on the nature of the other books in the very long series (I'd have to go up to my collection to check but by the time you get to Ozma, your around to at least book 60 or so) I'd say they got to Ozma just because they decided to put it out then; the date is likey purely coincidental. Alos bear in mind that Propura Sha created a new set of these books around the mid 90's and unlike most titles in the series, all of the oz books were re-illustrated, which seems to indicate the books were selling well enough to keep in the set (whether the new isstrations were becuse the ten current ones were not popular, or the lost the rights to the orginal ones I do not know.)
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