OKA, Genpo.

Moshi Hinbutsu Zuko

> click here to see the full size image.

[Illustrated treatise of objects from Nature in Mao’s Book of Poems / Songs / Odes]. 118 full-pagefine woodcuts of animals & plants in the text by Yukosai Kunio. 43; 43; 32 folded leaves. Seven parts in three vols. 8vo, blue semi-stiff wrappers, embossed with a floral design, sewed in Chinese manner with woodcut printed labels on each cover (two labels a little abraded, a bit of unimportant marginal worming). Kyoto: Kitamura Shirobei, Tenmei 5 [1785]. First edition of this beautifully illustrated book, xylographically printed. A most handsome book, it describes the natural world, depicting plants, birds, fish, mammals, insects, and reptiles and their uses in pharmacology. The text — “Mao’s Book of Poems” [the Shijing of Mao] — is the earliest existing collection of Chinese poems and is one of the great Confucian classics, dating from the 12th to the 7th cent. B.C. It is regarded as a foundation work of Chinese literature. Genpo (Koyoku) Oka (1737-87), a physician in Osaka, was the compiler of this work and knew classical Chinese. This work, printed on nino paper (the best for block books), is a fine example of high-quality Japanese book production. The main text is in Chinese, with the plant and animal names in both Chinese and Japanese. The handsome illustrations are from drawings by Suya Kunio and the woodcuts were done by Omori Kibei and Yamamoto Chozaemon. Fine set, preserved in a modern cloth case. Several red ownership stamps. ❧ Walravens, Zoologische Buchillustration in China und Japan (in Nissen ZBI), p. 447–(with incorrect date).

• USD 5,000.00 > other currencies
• ordernr.: HillBibl-1564

• bookseller: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc. (USA)