SPL Hand Coloured Rare Book Collection Featuring Norman R Bobins

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FURUKAWA, Koshoken.

A beautifully illustrated manuscript of Furukawa's famous tour of Japan's northeast regions, including Hokkaido, during 1787-88.

Published
Japan, ca 1789
References
Harold Bolitho, "Travelers' Tales: Three 18th cent Travel Journals" in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 50, No.2 (Dec 1990), pp.485-504.
Plates
74
Binding/Size
S=8vo
Value
5001-25000
Published
Japan, ca 1789
Ref
1585

Finely Illustrated manuscript on paper. Approximately 74 fine paintings in glorious colour, including maps throughout. Ten parts in five volumes. Octavo. (267 x 195 mm), original patterned wrappers. This copy is uncommonly well-illustrated, and superbly coloured with great detail. Furukawa (1726-1807) was a native of Okayama Prefecture and was a rather unruly youth who pursued studies in various fields. He studied geography under Sekisui Nagakubo in Edo, which inspired him to start traveling throughout Japan. His first great work - "Saiyu zakki" (Jottings of Travels in the West), tells of his extensive travels throughout southwestern Japan, including Kyushu, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Dazaifu, and Shimonoseki. Many of the illustrations are double-page, with a few extending to three pages. Many are of landscapes, notable shrines, temples, lakes, bridges, castles, and towns of northern Japan and Hokkaido, and maps. In mint condition, some pages have wormholes to a greater or lesser extent.