The Japanese tradition of children's book illustration is one of the most interesting phenomena of culture. It occupies a specific position both in contemporary art space and in the context of modern culture. At the same time, the study of the children's Japanese book and book illustration was extremely fragmentary: as a rule, were considered its individual aspects or related directions. The Japanese children's book and illustration rarely attracted attention as a phenomenon of culture or systemic cultural phenomenon. At the same time, this analytical direction and this material is important both as a study of an artistic precedent and as a form of research in the space of culture. At the same time, its research was extremely fragmentary and was associated with a number of difficulties: the Japanese illustrative tradition uses a different than European system of artistic solutions. This article aims to examine the main elements of book graphics in Japan and identify the main names associated with the formation of modern Japanese book graphics. Within the framework of the research are systematized the main names of modern Japanese children's illustrations. Also are outlined the basic principles of the transformation of the children's books. The article is devoted to the specifics of children's book illustration in modern Japan.