Many woodcut illus. in the text. 45; 30 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Tokyo: Kinbe Yoshida, 1900.

Second edition, enlarged (the first edition of 1890, privately printed, is very rare), of this classic Japanese work on ivory carving. Kuninosuke Soma, whose pen-name was Senrei Soma, was one of the leading ivory carvers of his time (see Encyc. Brit.). George Frederick Kunz, in his magisterial Ivory and the Elephant in Art, in Archaeology, and in Science (1916), wrote “this new book of Mr. Sen-rei is a brilliant achievement. Students will... More

Woodcut wall-map (1170 x 1420 mm.), folded into orig. gray wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (wrappers rubbed). Text in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. Kyoto: Bundaiken Uhei, 1710.

First edition, in a fine dark impression, of the first Japanese printed map to depict the world, including Europe and North and South America, from the Buddhist cosmographical perspective. On this map, the world is seen through Buddhist eyes, based on Buddhist sources, with Mount Sumeru, the central axis of the universe in Buddhist cosmology, in the center. Lake Anavatapta, the source of the four holy rivers of India... More

One double-page & nine full-page illus. in the text. 90 folding leaves. Large 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, modern stitching. Osaka: 1803.

First edition of one of the best and most influential recipe books of its period, written for wealthy homes. The author follows the cooking philosophy of Yuan Kitamura, who invented or codified many recipes in the early 18th century. A series of the recipes are still used today: using dashi to make broth, and how to make many kinds of soy sauce, vinegar, and miso. Sugino discusses when to use which kind of soy sauce or vinegar or miso... More

Six columns per page, 17 characters per column, text-block height 205 mm. 15 joined sheets. 81 pages. Tall narrow 8vo (275 x 115 mm.), orig. semi-stiff wrappers to form a “wallet binding.” [Kanto region?]: printed at end, “Ke’en bikuni Chikan, January 1363.”

An extremely rare dated sutra, printed by the monk Chikan in January 1363, apparently in the Kanto region. It has been printed on fine thick paper (gampi or mulberry fibers), with bold, thick strokes, using black sumi ink.

According to the blog of a local printing historian in Yamanashi Prefecture, who is a member of the Hobundo Company... More

20-24 columns per sheet, 17 characters per column (column height 203-04 mm.), printed on 19 joined sheets (263 mm. high, sheet lengths from 382 to 443 mm., total length 8170 mm.), attached at end to a wooden roller. [Nara: 1222-27].

A rare early printed sutra scroll, part of the Karoku-ban edition printed in 1222-27. It has been printed on high-quality thick paper (gampi, or mulberry fibers), and printed in bold, thick strokes, using black sumi ink, typical of Kamakura and Muromachi kasuga-ban printings (kasuga-ban is a general term for publications of the Nara monasteries).

The Mahaprajnaparamitasutra is a massive compilation... More

Six pages of color paintings of species of sweet potatoes. 14 folding leaves. 8vo (267 x 190 mm.), orig. decorated semi-stiff wrappers, stitched as issued, manuscript title label on upper cover. [Japan]: late Edo.

Sweet potatoes are one of the glories of the Japanese table. The author of the text of this finely illustrated manuscript was the Nagasaki resident Tokitane Kohiga, mathematician and scholar of materia medica. The text was written in October 1805, and this is surely a later copy.

The sweet potatoes of Ryukyu (today, Okinawa) are famous. The potatoes came from China and began to be cultivated... More

21 full-page woodcuts. 30; 29; 26; 23; 31 folding leaves. Five vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers (wrappers rather rubbed & frayed), new stitching. Kyoto: Izutsuya Shobei; Edo: Nishimura Uhei, 1697.

First edition of this collection of haikai written by several members of the circle surrounding Matsuo Basho (1644-94), Japan’s best-loved author. The poems were gathered by Taihakudo Torin (d. 1719), a friend and disciple of Basho (there is speculation that Torin was Basho’s nephew or younger brother). In 1696, to prepare for the third anniversary of Basho’s death, Torin retraced Basho’s famous 1689 journey through the main island of Japan, which... More

Seven full-page woodcuts & a few smaller text illus. 49 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. title label on upper cover with title in manuscript, modern stitching. Wakayama: Kasedaya Hiemon et al., 1818.

First edition of Takebe’s translation and commentary of Lorenz Heister’s writings on infections and their treatment. Heister (1683-1758), wrote one of the best and most complete works on surgery of the 18th century. Translated into Japanese, it was enormously successful, introducing Western methods to many Japanese surgeons.

Takebe (1782-1842), a samurai, has included here all of Heister’s writings on infections and has provided a number of his... More

28 folding engraved plates. 74; 86; 60; 35 folding leaves. Four vols. Oblong 8vo, orig. patterned wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Tokyo: Government Publication issued under the Author’s name [Yosoda Masayoshi, a pen name for Tanabe], 1869.

First edition in Japanese, translated from an unidentified French text, which, according to the Preface, was issued in 1863, with a sequel in 1867. Tanabe also states that this work includes information gained from the French military mission of 17 men (four officers, ten non-commissioned officers, and two soldiers, led by staff captain Charles Sulpice Jules Chanoine), who... More

Brush & ink drawings in several vols. Ca. 1500 folding leaves. Ten vols. Thick 8vo (280 x 195 mm.), later wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: from the final leaf of Vol. 10 (in approximate trans.): “The Buddhist practitioner Banjin copied this in Kinko [in today’s Kagoshima Prefecture] in 1721. I visited Banjin in 1737 and had conversations with him, [signed] Soko.”

Manuscript excerpts dating from after 1646, taken from Shuo fu, a collectanea (congshu) by Tao Zongyi (ca. 1316-ca. 1402), bibliophile and author; Shuo fu preserved a number of important documents and biographical data that would have been lost otherwise. Tao... More

108 finely color-printed woodcut illus. (mostly two-thirds of a page). 55 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. speckled wrappers (a bit worn & somewhat rubbed, eleven folding leaves with some worming in gutter, extending into images, neatly repaired), orig. title label on upper cover, modern stitching. N.p.: 1857 or 1858.

First edition of this finely illustrated work by Hiroshige. Each page is divided into three sections: the top contains two poems, the central panel has a poem and a poet’s portrait, and the bottom panel is blank.

“Among artists of the popular school who were uncultured, although not actually illiterate, Hiroshige was... More

Several dozen manuscripts in various formats, incl. long folded sheets, stitched pamphlets, sewn volumes, and letters. Japan: ca. 1853-63.

A substantial group of documents revealing internal, high-level debates and discussions in response to Commodore Perry’s landings and later controversies that arose as Western powers established a foothold in Japan. This is an exceptional collection, filled with top-secret information on government intrigues as the Japanese state responded to aggressive foreign expansion and dissenting groups within the government urging top-to-bottom reforms.

The manuscripts touch upon pivotal events in Japan’s history:

–Commodore Perry’s two expeditions (July 1853 & February-March 1854) and the resulting... More