23; 49; 54; 62; 62 (of 64, lacking two leaves); 36; 46; 53; 59 folding leaves. Nine vols. 8vo (271 x 175 mm.), modern wrappers, new stitching. [Sakai?]: [Privately Printed] for Asaino Sōzui 阿佐井野宗瑞, dated 1528 in Postscript.

First edition, privately published, of the first medical book to be printed in Japan. This is the best-known work of the sakaiban 堺版 editions, whose appearance in the port city of Sakai (just south of Osaka) marked the beginning of private/commercial publishing in late medieval Japan. The printing of secular texts was new for Japan, especially for commercial purposes. It was a.... More