Five full-page woodcuts. 51; 58 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Japan]: [1737?]

An illustrated record of the truly gruesome sacrifices made by the Pure Land monk Taijō (1685-1731). He began studying Buddhism in 1715 and in 1719 decided to become a monk, leaving his wife and child as well as his elderly mother. Following the example of the master who initiated him to Buddhism, Taijō in 1720 severed his penis and took the tonsure. Among his other exploits, we note the writing of the name of... More