Kumanaki kage [trans.: Shadows Everywhere or Shadows without Shade].
82 black & white silhouette ports. on pale blue backgrounds & numerous finely color-printed vignettes & “poem-strips.” 48 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. decorated wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover, new stitching. [Japan]: 1867.
First edition of this finely color-printed book which contains a memorable double-page frontispiece by Zeshin (1807-91), the leading Shijo-style painter of the Meiji period, one of the greatest of lacquer artists of his time, and a prominent contributor of designs for books. “In the Meiji period [and before], the presence of a print designed by Zeshin invariably gave a certain cachet to any book of... More