33 double-page & 181 full-page black & white woodcuts. 30 vols. bound in 15. Large 8vo, orig. brown patterned semi-stiff wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Kagoshima fiefdom]: [Kagoshima-han 鹿兒島藩], Introduction in first volume dated “1804.”

First edition of this great agricultural and botanical work, an encyclopedic survey of all the agricultural products and practices of Japan. It is wonderfully illustrated with a splendid series of woodcuts.

This book is today a valuable repository of traditional Japanese knowledge of crops, including vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees; agricultural practices; and food-processing methods. The authors focus on the... More