114 folding pages (many split along fore-edge). Large 4to (295 x 225 mm.), orig. wrappers (somewhat frail & frayed), orig. stitching. [China]: 1867 (date of Preface).

A Mongolian translation of a Chinese religious text dedicated to Guandi, or Lord Guan. “Guandi, Chinese god of war whose immense popularity with the common people rests on the firm belief that his control over evil spirits is so great that even actors who play his part in dramas share his power over demons. Guandi is not only a natural favourite of soldiers but has been chosen patron of numerous trades and professions. This... More

One sheet of paper (318 x 465 mm.), woodblock printed on both sides. [Japan]: ca. 1764-85.

In Edo-period Japan, bansho (small buildings or huts for security and surveillance guards) were placed in central locations. There were several types of bansho, and the present document was printed as an instructional legal guide for security men in tsuji-bansho (neighborhood guard stations), located in the streets of samurai residences, especially in Edo.

The guards needed to know what to do and how to proceed in the unusual situations they might confront: deserted children (a child under three is “deserted” but an older child... More

Finely illustrated manuscript of Tale of Ise on smooth & thick torinoko paper with 30 full-page & one double-page paintings, employing sumi ink, various washes, sprinkled gold, & gold paint. Leaves of text underpainted in gold with delicate floral devices. Written throughout in a fine calligraphic cursive hand. 34; 35; 33 leaves. Three vols. Small 4to (234 x 171 mm.), retchoso binding, orig. gold & blue-green silk brocade over semi-stiff wrappers, gold endpapers, gold-patterned manuscript labels on upper cover. [Japan]: early to mid-Edo.

A very beautifully illustrated manuscript of Tale of Ise, one of the earliest and most famous literary... More

One full-page woodcut. 30 folding leaves. 8vo (192 x 138 mm.), orig. wrappers, manuscript title-slip on upper cover, new stitching. [Edo]: on final leaf [Matsue Ichirōbei 松会市郎兵衛], “on a good day in July 1664.”

First illustrated edition of “the first culinary book [in Japan] written for an audience other than hōchōnin [professional chefs who created meals for the ruling elite].”–Rath, p. 57. The first edition, which was unillustrated, appeared in 1643 and is a well-known rarity; our edition is equally rare. The anonymous author, who in the Postscript is described as having written this book in Sayama in Musashi province... More

12 columns per page, 23 characters per column. Printed in Hangul & Chinese characters throughout. 56; 48; 55; 50; 62 numbered folding leaves. Five vols. Large 8vo (330 x 215 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat rubbed), old stitching. Kyŏngsang: Provincial Government Offices, 1862.

A scarce translation into Korean, printed in Hangul and Chinese characters throughout, of the main text of the Document Classic, one of the oldest texts in the Confucian canon. It has been traditionally ascribed to several authors, including the Duke of Zhou. The Document Classic (or Book of Documents) contains documents purporting to originate with the earliest... More

Ten columns per page, 21 characters per column. Two sizes of type. 38 folding leaves. Large 8vo (321 x 200 mm.), orig. brown patterned wrappers, new stitching. [Seoul]: Pich’ŏndang 丕闡堂 Building, Sŏnggyun’gwan [today’s Sungkyunkwan University], 1872.

First edition and very rare; WorldCat lists only the Berkeley copy. “Scroll” is clearly used here as a figure of speech, as this is a codex-style book, printed using movable (metal or wooden?) type in 1872. Sungkyunkwan, established in 1398, was the highest educational institution in Chosŏn Korea. It is now the sight of an eponymous university. The location of the printing of this... More

Two brush & ink drawings in the text. 89 folding leaves. 8vo (190 x 127 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat frayed), orig. stitching. [Japan?: mid-Edo].

A most interesting and extensive manuscript on acupuncture and moxibustion, divided into seven parts. Based on WorldCat and Kyoto University’s manuscript with the same title, we can attribute the authorship of these texts to Chishin Tanaka, a physician of the early Edo period.

The first four parts (“East,” “West,” “South,” “North”; 17, 17, 25, 12 leaves, respectively) are devoted to general principles of acupuncture and moxibustion. In each of these parts, many symptoms and case... More

Two parts in one vol. 25, 13 folding leaves. 8vo (198 x 135 mm.), orig. wrappers (rubbed), old stitching. [Japan]: at the beginning of each part & on final leaf (in trans.): “Oyo [today, Nagoya] retired doctor Tokei [or] Tokoku Yoshida copied 6 June 1767.”

The first part provides a detailed explanation of the theory and practice of acupuncture, concentrating on 28 different ways to use the needle. At the end of this part, there is a most interesting discussion of Zi Wu Liu zhu [The Midnight-Noon Ebb-Flow Acupuncture Method], which is used as a theoretical guide to determine whether... More

Finely colored title & 12 colored tipped-in plates by Ryuichi Oana. 1 p.l., 160 pp., one leaf of colophon. Small folio, orig. yellow cloth with pictorial medallions inset into each cover, orig. glassine wrapper & slipcase. Tokyo: Kaizosha, 1928.

First edition, posthumously published, of this beautiful book, a collection of fairy tales, including the famous story “Kumo no ito” [“The Spider’s Thread”]. Akutagawa (1892-1927), is today most famous for having written the story “In the Grove” which was the basis for the classic film Rashomon by Kurosawa.

Fine copy of an example of luxurious Japanese bookmaking. More

33.5 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff patterned wrappers (a little rubbed), orig. title-slip on upper cover, new stitching. [Edo]: Uonisai 有乎爾齋, title-page: 1849; at end of text: 1850.

First edition to be printed in Japan (first printed in Korea in 1663) of this personal history of the Japanese invasion of Korea (the Imjin War) at the end of the 16th century. An (1573-1654), a native of Chuksan, south of Seoul, had a significant leadership role during the Japanese invasions, organizing and leading local resistance and contributing to the broader guerilla warfare strategy.

“According to the preface added to this... More

Numerous woodcut illustrations. Five vols. Large 8vo, orig. semi-stiff patterned wrappers with orig. title-slips, new stitching. Edo, Kyoto, & Osaka: Suharaya mohei 須原屋茂兵衛, 1769.

First edition of this influential book of mathematics, which inspired a number of commentaries and derivative works. Arima (1714-83) was the lord of Kurume domain in present-day Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu. He was a patron of scholarship, and for the education of his samurai, he invited Confucian scholars, calendrical experts, and experts in military studies as well as mathematicians to the domain.

The importance of Arima’s book stems from the fact that it, “as... More

24; 46 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. blue wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers, new stitching. Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, & Edo: Kawachiya Kihei et al., 1848.

Second edition (1st ed.: 1770); both editions are very rare. This book, in Chinese with Japanese reading marks, is the commentary by Asai (1706-80), the famous painter of bamboo and court physician of the Owari fiefdom, on the biography of Bian Que (active sometime in 5th-3rd centuries B.C.), the founding father of scientific Chinese medicine. This biography first appeared in Shiji [Records of the Grand Historian], written by Sima Qian. The... More