32 fine full-page woodcuts. 42 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. blue wrappers (wrappers rather rubbed, minor soiling), modern manuscript label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: from the Japanese colophon on the penultimate leaf: “Nakano Zesui had the woodblocks carved & published this book mid-July 1655.”

First edition to be published in Japan, printed in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. Yongming Yanshou (J.: Eimei (or Yomei) Enju, 904-75), was a Chan master who had a profound impact on the development of Buddhism in East Asia. Yanshou was a widely influential proponent of a scripture-based Chan, in opposition to the rhetorical... More

45 woodcut illus. in the text. 29 folding leaves. Three vols. in one. Large 8vo, orig. wrappers (rather rubbed, some light dampstaining), remains of block-printed title label on upper cover, modern stitching. [Kyoto]: Osumi Seibei, [Foreword dated 1311, colophon dated 1675].

The third edition — preceded by an undated early 17th-century undated edition and a 1659 edition — of this collection of dissertations on moxibustion and acupuncture. It concerns moxibustion treatment for adults and children with 36 pictures of adults and nine of children, illustrating the locations of acupuncture points with explanations of efficacies. This edition is notable for presenting... More

Three large folded sheets & two lengthy letters with their original manuscript envelopes. Japan: ca. 1822-31.

An exceptional collection of documents on two consequential early Western visits to Japan in the 1820s: the first landing of the Saracen at Uraga and the Takarajima incident. During this period, accounts of these incursions were kept top-secret as matters of Japanese national security. Pre-Commodore Perry materials, such as ours, are extremely scarce. This collection also contains well-rendered drawings of foreigners and their ships. The letters sent by government officials speak to the widespread anxiety throughout the country in the face of much more... More

Two scrolls (284 x 10,460 mm.; 10,950 mm., including front endpapers), speckled gold inner endpapers, outer endpapers covered in green silk with gold patterns. [Japan]: at the end of the second scroll (in trans.): “copied in 1830 by Chuwa Matsumura, having borrowed it from the family of Yahata” [?, our reading is uncertain, perhaps the family that lived in Awa Province, today’s Tokushima Prefecture].

These fine and handsome scrolls depict and describe the imperial procession and visit of Emperor Gomizunoo (1596–1680) to Nijo Castle in Kyoto in October 1626. Nijo Castle was the Kyoto residence of Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604–1651)... More

Many fine drawings, some double-page, some single-page, a few heightened in wash of several colors. 47 folding leaves. Large 8vo (298 x 217 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat soiled), new stitching. [Japan: early to mid-Edo].

A fine and well-illustrated equine medicine manuscript, based on the traditional Chinese veterinary medical theories of the five organs (liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney), their seven related personality traits (anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, surprise, and contempt), and eight elements of pulse condition at the six locations. There is also a substantial section on the use of moxibustion for treating the liver, heart, lung... More

8vo (218 x 158 mm.), orig. silk-covered boards, gold label on upper cover, paintings pasted on gold-flecked paper over stiff boards. [Japan]: late Edo or Meiji era.

A very fine album of 12 paintings (the well-known “set of 12“ format) of women’s vulvas, mostly with penises inserted. Many of the scenes are obviously post-coital. The details of the pubic hair and sexual organs are very beautifully painted in vivid colors. One of the images depicts a very young woman masturbating, and another shows a man’s hand stimulating his partner.

In fine condition, preserved in an attractive silk brocade patterned chitsu... More

Scroll on paper (330 x 4680 mm.), with seven scenes in brush & ink and color washes, gold-flecked endpapers, gold-flecked borders throughout, silk brocade on outside of endpapers, silver-flecked paper on verso of scroll, wooden core roller. [Japan: late Edo].

A remarkable erotic scroll depicting the visit of a group of traveling Buddhist priests to a roadside inn, where they have much and varied sex with each other and the inn’s female employees, who supplemented their incomes as prostitutes. There are seven scenes:

1. The first scene depicts two young Buddhist priests, one a younger assistant, with walking sticks. They... More

Scroll (300 x 4150 mm.), with pale green silk borders & endpapers, wooden core roller. [Japan]: n.d. but probably early Edo.

This is a fine example of an erotic scroll, anonymously painted as usual but with great skill. The scroll contains ten scenes of men (sometimes samurai) and women engaged in various sexual activities. Two of the scenes are threesomes, one of which shows a young samurai copulating with two older women. The hairstyles of both the women and men are typical of the pleasure courts of the early Edo period.

Erotic paintings in Japan have a long tradition, established... More

Ten cards (181 x 50 mm.), all preserved in the orig. folded color-printed wrapper, entitled on upper panel Furyu e tanzaku [Elegantly Illustrated Tanzaku Cards]. [Japan: Meiji Era].

Ten erotic cards, issued together, each in the tanzaku ban format, and accompanied by their original color-printed wrapper. Tanzaku cards were popular in the Meiji era (1868-1912); see Rosina Buckland’s “Erotic Art of the Meiji Era (1868-1912)” in Timothy Clark et al., eds., Shunga. Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art (British Museum: 2013), pp. 454-55.

The upper panel of each is very finely color-printed with saturated inks, embossing, and rich use of... More

16 double-page & four single-page color-printed woodcuts. 13; 11; 9 folding leaves. Three vols. Small 8vo, orig. speckled semi-stiff boards (boards rubbed), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. [Japan, probably Edo]: manuscript inscription dated “1832” at end of each volume.

First edition and very rare; we do not find this book listed in WorldCat or in the Union Catalogue of Japanese Books. The Preface is signed by Akikei (or Akikage) Higashikuni.

This work is an erotic version of Shiki no en, an 18th-century group of songs on the four seasons of love from the Yamada ryu school... More

One triple-page, four double-page, 10 full-page woodcut illus. & one single-page woodcut map of the world. 5., 27, .5; 19; 31, .5 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo, orig. black patterned semi-stiff wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on each upper cover, new stitching. Kobe: Inoue Shinkodo, title-page dated 1888.

First edition. Fujikawa (1816-91), was a pioneer of the Japanese fishing industry and established the first private educational fishing institution in Japan. He also introduced a number of Western whaling techniques to Japanese fishermen.

The first volume contains a number of commendatory prefaces from notable personages including the famous artist Settou Ozaki... More

Woodcut frontis. 84 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. blue patterned wrappers, block-printed label on upper cover, new stitching. Edo: Okadaya Kashichi & Izumiya Ichibei, [1833].

First edition and quite rare. This is a collection of planned menus, each involving a number of dishes, arranged by the four seasons. The fine full-page woodcut shows a kitchen scene in a wealthy household, with a chef cutting a fish with a knife and preparing ceremonial dishes (all the ingredients are apparent in the background). A female server is carrying a dish to the dining area.

The main body of the text lists dishes with... More