Grand Concert Parisien, Rentree de Mme Bonnaire [...] 

[Concert Parisien (produced by)].

[Paris: Concert Parisien, 1890?]. 

A chirimen (crepe paper) poster advertising various acts at the Concert Parisien. One of the acts is the famous cafe performer Yvette Guilbert (1865-1944), who joined the Concert Parisien around 1889 after leaving the caf&ea ...

Hakurei gakuhyō ["Pleasurable critiques by the Hakurei"]

[Creator unidentified].

[Tōkyō?: Hakureisō-ren, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1770-1870s)?].

A carved woodblock used to print advertisements for a poetry competition. The text seems to invite submissions for the contest, which is to be judged by Senryū Sōshō (possibly Karai Senryū (1718-1790 ...

[Hanging scroll depicting Jurōjin]

[Artist unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Edo period (late 18th to early 19th century?)]. In manuscript.

A hanging scroll depicting Jurōjin, the god of longevity and one of the Shichifukujin (Seven Gods of Fortune). Some of the lines that make up the illustration are thought to be hiragana characters spelling out the god's n ...

 Hibiki ["Reverberations"]

[Sugiura, Hisui (designed by)].

[Kyōto: Fushimi Yamamoto-jō, ca. Shōwa period (1930-60s)].

A set of five plates illustrated with a motif designed in 1932 by famed graphic designer and artist Sugiura Hisui (1876-1965) for the cigarette brand Hibiki. The set comes with one of the original cigarette packages (flattened) featu ...

"趣味のコクテール"

Momose, Susumu [text by].

Tōkyō : Kinseidō , Shōwa 8 [1933]. 

One of the earliest Japanese cocktail books, containing information on the history of cocktails, notes on mixing liquors, illustrations of implements used in bartending, and, of course, many cocktail recipes.

Original boards, minor wear to spine. ...

[Homage to Ono Otsū's moji-e]

Ono-shi, Tsūjo [original illustration by]; [hand-copier unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Edo period (18th to early 19th century?)]. In manuscript.

A hand-painted copy by an unknown admirer of an illustration of the waka poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (sometimes known as Hitomaru, c. 653–655–c. 707– ...

Tsutsumimono Orikata Hinagata ["Examples of Ways to Fold Envelopes"]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji period (1868-1911)?].

A collection of 54 samples of papers folded in specific ways for various occasions. Rules for the correct pre ...

Kokkei Retsuden ["Biographies of Jesters"]

[Sima, Qian (original text by)]; Hamamura, Zōroku II [owned and/or copied by].

[Hyōgo?], Kansei 12 [1800]. Manuscript, on woodblockprinted stationery.

A kanbun rendering in manuscript of Guji Liezhuan ("The Biographies of Jesters"), volume 126 of the Shiji ("Records of the Grand Historian") by Sima Qian (c. 145-8 ...

[百人一首歌留多
(Hyakunin Isshu Karuta, “Cards of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets”)]

[Keisai, Eisen (illustrated by)].

[Tōkyō]: Shiba Senichi, [ca. 1850-60s].

A complete set of two hundred uncut hyakunin isshu cards (one hundred poem cards and one hundred poet cards) in eight leaves. The publisher and printer was Shiba Senichi (芝泉市), ...

Jurin Shomoku ["Catalogue of Works from the Ranks of Confucian Scholars"] 

[Compiler unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Meiji to Taishō period (1880-1910s)?]. In manuscript.

A manuscript catalogue listing texts composed or edited by Japanese Confucian and Neo-Confucian philosophers including but not limited to Hayashi Razan (Dōshun, 1583-1657), Hayashi Gahō ( ...

Kaika Shindai Toppyō Shiwa ["Outrageous Poems and Stories: New Titles for a Civilised Age"]

Ryūsuitei, Tanekiyo [text by]; Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Ryūshindō ... [et al.], Meiji 13 [1880]. 

A complete set of this collection of humorous poems illustrated with comical and risqué scenes by Kyōsai. The books are d ...

Kaiunbashi Daiichi Ginkō ["Kaiunbashi Bridge and the First National Bank"]

Kobayashi, Kiyochika [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early to mid-twentieth century?]. 

A later printing or re-carved edition of arguably Kiyochika's most famous work: a snowy scene featuring the First National Bank and Kaiunbashi Bridge in Tokyo. A se ...

Kanadehon Chūshingura, Dai-Kudanme ["The Treasury of Loyal Retainers: Act Nine"]

Kōchōrō [Utagawa], Kunisada [illustrated by].

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: Yorozuya Kichibē, [ca. Edo period (1830-40s?)].

A scene from Act 9 of Kanadehon Chūshingura, one of Japan's most popular plays, illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III, 1786–1864). The work seems ...

Kanzeon Reigenki Hyakuban Mokuroku ["Record of the Miracles of Kannon: Index of the One Hundred Pilgrimage Sites"]

Ōju Mantei, Ōga [text by]; [Utagawa], Toyokuni [III], [Utagawa], Hiroshige [II] [illustrated by]. 

[Edo (Tōkyō): Nanden Nisanshō, Ansei 6 (1859)]. 

The index print for a series of nishiki-e listing one hundred temples from three pil ...

木曽路之山川
[Kisoji no Yamakawa, “Mountain River on the Kiso Road”]

[Utagawa], Hiroshige I [illustrated by].

[Japan: unidentified publisher, ca. early to mid-20th century].

A set of three unused postcards delicately woodblock-printed with Hiroshige's famous illustration of the snowy Kiso Valley. Originally printed in 1857, Mountain River o ...

Kokkei Ana-sagashi [Funny Flaw-Finding]

[Utagawa], Yoshimori [illustrated by].

[Tōkyō]: Iseshō [Iseya Shōnosuke], [1864].

A comical woodblock print by Utagawa Yoshimori (1830-1885), introducing seven character flaws across two scenes. The nishiki-e, number five of an indeterminate number of prints in Yoshimori's Kokkei Ana-sagashi series, describes ch ...

Kokkei Jitsuwa ["Amusing True Tales"] = A Foreigner's Blunders in Japan

Eastlake, F. Warrington [text by]; [translator unidentified].

Tōkyō : Kanasashi Horyudo, Meiji 36 [1903].

A collection of nineteen amusing stories of embarrassing cultural and linguistic blunders made in Japan by the author, Frederick Warrington Eastlake (1856-1905). Eastlake, an ...

Kokkei Usaharashi ["Humorous Distractions"]

Itō, Kyōtō ... [et al.] [text by]. 

Tōkyō: Kokkeidō, Meiji 15 [1882]. 

Issue seven of Kokkei Usaharashi, a magazine of short stories and kyōka, haiku, and dodoitsu poems. The publishing house that produced the magazine, Kokkeidō, was owned by Akiyama Buemon (d. 1900), a pupil of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and ...

"皇国雷名の諸君見立力競"

[Katsushika?], Masahisa [illustrated by].

Tōkyō : [publisher illegible], Meiji 15 [1882].

An engrossing triptych featuring over three hundred famous people engaged in bouts of kubihiki. Kubihiki was a Japanese game in which a looped string was placed around the necks of two people and a trial of strength would ensue. In this work, cel ...

Kudanzaka Satsuki no yoru ["A night in May at Kudanzaka Hill"]

Kobayashi, Kiyochika [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. early to mid-twentieth century?]. 

A later printing or re-carved edition of Kiyochika's illustration of a rainy night at Kudanzaka. Figures seem to disappear off the edge of the world as they descend the steps i ...

Kyōji Kozaiku no E, Oteasobi Mono Shinajina [Stationer's Goods for Intricate Handiwork, Playthings, and so on]

Kyōjiya Hikobē-ten [produced by]. 

Kyōto: Kyōjiya Hikobē-ten, [ca. late Edo period (1800-50s?)].

An advertisement for goods produced by a kyōjiya - a specialist in mounting hanging scrolls and installing interior screens but also, as thi ...

Kyōsai Rakuga ["Kyōsai's Drawings for Pleasure"]

Kawanabe, Dōiku [Kyōsai] [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Takeda Den'emon, Meiji 14 [1881].

A delicately woodblock-printed album of 34 double-page illustrations of plants, flowers, and animals by Kyōsai. Kyōsai's distinctively comical style is largely absent from this work; instead, he showcases ...

Makura Jidō: kabukiza shinkyōgen ["Makura Jidō: new kyōgen at the kabuki theatre"]

Kōchōrō [Utagawa Kunisada III] [illustrated by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, Meiji 25 (1892)?].

A triptych by Utagawa Kunisada III (1848–1920) depicting the eponymous Kiku Jidō (Jidō of the Chrysanthemum, also known as Jidō of the Headrest) from the play Makura Jid ...

Minken Hizakurige ["A Journey Through Civil Rights"]

Seizaburō, Kida [text by]; Suita, Dōshi [Tajima, Shōji] [preface by]; Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Kinkōdō, Meiji 15 [1882]. 

The first series (all published) of this work satirising the political debate around civil rights and democracy (the Jiyū Minken Undō (Freedom an ...

Mitate Hakkei: Yashima Sekishō ["Selection for the Eight Views: Evening Glow at Yashima"]

Ichiyusai [Utagawa], Kuniyoshi [illustrated by].

[Shibamishima-cho, (Tokyo)]: Wakasaya, [1846].

An unusual triptych from Kuniyoshi's Selection for the Eight Views series, featuring a scene from the Battle of Yashima of the warrior monk Benkei peering through ...

Miuchi-zoroi ["Collection of Beauties"]

Kikukawa, Eizan [illustrated by].

[Japan: Iwatoya Kisaburō, ca. Edo period (1800-20s)].

A courtesan adjusts her tortoiseshell hair ornaments in a pocket mirror, tissues tucked under her chin. This print seems to be from a different series than Eizan's similarly named Shoshoku Miuchi-zoroi and Fūryū Miuc ...

Mizugaki manji sōshi ["Notebooks for brush-andwater calligraphy"]

Asai, Shigemitsu [produced by].

Tōkyō: Manjidō, Meiji 17 [1884].

A Meiji period advertisement for mizugaki paper produced by the Tokyo firm Manjidō. Mizugaki is a type of calligraphy practice in which the brush is dipped in water instead of ink.

One loose leaf, printe ...

Mongata Kiriyō-den ["Stencils for Crest-Cutting"]

[Creator unidentified].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, ca. mid-Meiji period (1870-90s)?].

A playful woodblock-printed work on cutting kamon (family crests) from folded paper in a process called monkiri ("crest-cutting"). This process involves cutting out the desired template from the book, laying it on to ...

Monyo shōhin ["Small patterns"]

[Tsuda, Seifū (illustrated by)]; Honda, Ichijirō [edited by].

Kyōto: Honda Unkindō, Meiji 33-[35] [1900-(1902)]. 

A two-volume compendium of woodblock-printed designs and patterns illustrated by the acclaimed graphic designer Tsuda Seifū (1880–1978) and produced by the famous design book publisher Unkindō.& ...

Musha Jūroku Musashi ["A Jūroku Musashi Game of Warriors"]

Ōsai [Utagawa], Fusatane [illustrated by].

Bakurochō, [Tōkyō]: Higuchi Gintarō, [ca. Meiji period (1880-90s?)].

A variation on a classic Japanese strategy game, Jūroku Musashi ("Sixteen Soldiers"). In the game, which is believed to have originated in the Edo period, two players first decide who ...

Namamugi Jiken no Tenmatsu: Machibure Ikken no Utsushi ["Copy of the Official Notices on the Details of the Namamugi Incident"]

[Scribe unidentified].

[Japan, ca. Bunkyū period (1860s)?].

A manuscript compilation of records of the arrival of British warships in Yokohama in 1863 following the Namamugi Incident. On the 14th of September 1862, the British me ...

Nankyoku he Itta Neko no Hanashi [The Tale of the Cat who Went to Antarctica]

Koide, Shōgo [adapted by]; Watabe, Kikuji [binding designed by]; [Carroll, Ruth (illustrated by)].

Tōkyō: Dōwa Shunjūsha, Shōwa 17 [1942]. First edition.

An adaptation of Ruth and Latrobe Carroll's Luck of the Roll and Go (first published New York: Macmillan Co., 1935). The ...

Nankyoku Tairiku [The Antarctic Continent]

Nihon Kyokuchi Kenkyū Shinkōkai [edited by].

Tōkyō: Nihon Kyokuchi Kenkyū Shinkōkai, 1965.

A sizeable (79 x 109.5 cm) colour map of Antarctica edited and produced by the Japan Polar Research Association (J.P.R.A.) in 1965. The map has a scale of 1:6,500,000, and place names are recorded in English and occasional ...

Nankyoku Tairiku [The Antarctic Continent]

Tada, Fumio [proofread by].

Tōkyō: Chiseisha, [ca. 1957-1958].

A large (115 x 109 cm) colour map of Antarctica produced in commemoration of the International Geophysical Year (also known as the IGY, 1957-1958). Professor Tada Fumio (1900-1978), who proofread the map, was a central figure in organising Japan's ...

Nankyoku Tanken [Expedition to Antarctica]

Shirase, Nobu [text by].

Tōkyō: Hakubunkan, Taishō 2 [1913]. Third edition.

A third edition of the personal account of Japan's first Antarctic expedition (1910-1912) recorded by the expedition's leader, Japanese Army Lieutenant Shirase Nobu (1861–1946). Shirase's crew departed Tokyo on the Kainan ...

Nankyoku Tanken Inuzori-tai: Futari no Ainu no Hanashi [Antarctic Expedition Dog Sled Team: The Story of Two Ainu People]

Koide, Shōgo [text by].

Tōkyō: Fuzanbō, Shōwa 20 [1945]. First edition.

The story of the two Ainu men, Yayomanekuh (Yamabe Yasunosuke, 1867-1923) and Sisratoka (Hanamori Shinkichi, b. 1875/1876- year of death unknown), who travelled as ...

Nankyoku Tanken Jitsuroku [True Record of the Antarctic Expedition]

Tada, Keiichi [text by].

Tōkyō: Kainan Shuppan Kyōkai, Shōwa 31 [1956]. First edition.

A record of Japan's first Antarctic expedition (1910-1912) by the expedition's secretary and, later, assistant naturalist Tada Keiichi (1883-1959), following earlier works including his personal, ...

Nankyoku Tanken Shiroku [A Personal Account of the Antarctic Expedition]

Tada, Keiichi [text by].

Tōkyō: Keiseisha, Taishō Gannen [1912]. Fourth edition.

A personal, unauthorised, account of Japan's first Antarctic expedition (1910 1912) by the expedition's secretary and, later, assistant naturalist Tada Keiichi (1883-1959). The work includes nine ...

Natsu-matsuri Ikiji no Edokko [Summer Festival Spirit of the Edoites]

[Utagawa], Toyokuni [III] [illustrated by]. 

[Edo (Tōkyō)]: [Ōta] Takichi, [1858].

The rōnin Issun Tokubē (left) fights fishmonger (and accidental murderer) Danshichi Kurobē (right) in this dramatic scene from the kabuki Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada I ...

"新形友禅模様"

[Illustrator unidentified].

[Tōkyō]: Shiseidō, [ca. 1900-1920s].

A chiyogami paper illustrated with a design for yūzen dyeing of waves, flowers, and shallow sake cups marked with the character 壽 ("lucky"), woodblock-printed with a metallic pigment.

One leaf, complete. Browned, light creases, a few bumps to extremities ...

Nigatsu Yōka Kinshō no Hito Uke ni Iri ["February 8th, Luck to Those Born Under the Metal Element"]

[Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by].

Nihonbashi, [Tōkyō]: Takekawa Seikichi, [ca. Meiji period (1875-1890)?]. 

Uke-e - lucky prints - were presents sent to people entering their year of luck (whether a year was lucky for an individual was divined using ...

Ōiri ["Full House"]

Kubo, [first name illegible] [produced by]; Sogai [illustrated by?].

Kōbe: Shinyūren, [ca. Taishō to early Shōwa period (1910-30s)?].

A set of six woodblock-printed match labels featuring illustrations possibly associated with kabuki or another form of traditional performance. The term ōiri (大入) which appears on each of the match car ...

[Documents Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (text by)].

[Ibaraki, Japan], Meiji 4 [1871]. Manuscript.

A handwritten draft or record of a text produced by authorities regarding the granting of official licenses to booksellers, on stationery woodblock-printed by the Koga Domain (present day Ibaraki Prefecture).

Two folded leaves, considerab ...

Sokuratesu ["Socrates"]

Saiki, Sensui [text by].

Tōkyō : Keibunkan, Taishō 4 [1915].

The opening of Japan to trade brought an influx of Western books and a Renaissance-like discovery of the works of classical Greek and Roman philosophers to Japan. This book, more of a biography than a translation of Socrates's oeuvre, was produced by Saiki Sensui (18 ...

Rangaku Kei ["A Path to Dutch Learning"]

Fujibayashi, Jundō [Fuzan] [text by].

[Japan: publisher unidentified, postscript dated Bunka 7 (1810)].

Believed to be a retitled edition of Yakken Hanrei Narabini Fugen (" ...

Kirishitan Kikigaki ["A Verbatim Account of the Christians"]

[Author and transcriber unidentified].

[Japan, ca. late Edo to early Meiji period (1850-70s)?]. Manuscript.

A collection of writings about the Jesuit presence in Japan in the 16th and early 17th centuries. The manuscript begins with a brief description of the arrival of Christians (Jesuits) in Ja ...

Hokujoryo kigen shōsho ["Origins of the northern pleasure district, abridged"]

Shōji [Nishida], Katsutomi [original text by].

[Japan, ca. Ganji period (1864-1865)?]. Manuscript.

An abridged manuscript version of Hokujoryo kigen - an edition of Ihon Dōbō Goen ("Sequel to A garden of words from the boudoir", 1733) with additions by poet Ishihara Toryū (or T ...

Ōsaka: [Yamakichi?], ca. early Meiji period (1870-90s)].

A set of three paper templates for cutting materials to make tabi socks or jika-tabi (shoe-like tabi), woodblock-printed with instructions. The templates have been sewn together and may have been sold as a set in this format.

Three templates, sewn together, with an accompanying hand-inscribed ...

Pītā Pan ["Peter Pan"]

Barrie, James Matthew [original text by]; Kikuchi, Kan, Akutagawa, Ryūnosuke [translated by]; Ichiki, Ton, Katō, Masao [illustrated by]. 

Tōkyō: Kōbunsha, Shōwa 4 [1929].

An early Japanese edition of Peter Pan, translated by two of the most acclaimed Japanese novelists of the twentieth century, Kikuchi Kan (1888-1948) and A ...

Pō Shishū ["A Collection of Poems by Poe"]

Poe, Edgar Allan [original text by]; Wakameda, Takeji [translated by].

Tōkyō : Etsuzandō , Taishō 12 [1923]. Third edition.

An early Japanese translation of poems by Edgar Allan Poe. The translator, Wakameda, also helped to produce a Japanese translation of The Merchant of Venice in 1913 and an English t ...