Manuscript on paper, handwritten title on upper wrapper: “Ajin chojutsu / mujinto kiji” [“Written by...
Hand-drawn double-page map of the Bonin Islands. 61 folding leaves. Large 8vo (268 x 200 mm.), orig. wrappers, stitched, spine backed at an early date with matching paper. [Japan: ca. 1860].
An intriguing manuscript containing early Japanese translations of American reports drafted during Perry’s mission to the Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-shima) in June 1853, one month before he sailed into Edo Bay for the first time. It is a fascinating record of America’s colonial and commercial ambitions in the mid-19th century and Japan’s response. The volume’s upper wrapper bears the official seal (onikki kata) belonging to the Keeper of the Diary... More