Condition. The book is in Very Good+ condition. It is clean and free of foxing and staining. Minor edge breaks. One page has a small folded edge break (ca 1 inch) and corner fold. There are no other tears or breaks to the folded edge. There is an indentation which does not break the paper which extends through the front cover and into the first two folded pages. Inside the back cover has paper adhering which is ca 1 inch x 1/2 inch. Condition of this book is much better than normal for these books.

The front and back covers account for 2 folded leaves. The first internal page has the Title Page (front) and Preface (back). The other 6 have a photograph - front and back. The focus of this book is Japanese women and children - pastimes and customs. The photographs are titled:

1. Children at Meals
2. Mother and Her Baby
3. Courtesans
4. Working Men's Holiday
5. A Miniature Garden at a Tea House
6. Entertaining a Guest
7. Cloth Dealer's Shop
8. Summer Evening on the Shijo River
9. A Well
10. The "Jinrikisha" Riding on a Rainy Day
11. The Ainus at Dinner
12. A Matsuri (Temple Festival)

The book is in a horizontal format and measures 10 x 7 1/2 in - 25.4 x 19 cm. While the picture areas vary slightly, the norm is 7 x 5 1/2 in - 17.8 x 13.4 cm. In the preface, K. Ogawa states:

I have to acknowledge my indebtness to Messrs. K. Tamamura and S. Kajima, as well as Prof Burton, for sevaral of the plates in this volume.

For information on Kazumasa Ogawa, click here.

Children at Meals

Mother and Her Baby

Courtesans*

Working Men's Holiday*

A Miniature Garden at a Tea House

Entertaining a Guest

Cloth Dealer's Shop

Summer Evening on the Shijo River

A Well

The "Jinrikisha" Riding on a Rainy Day

The Ainus at Dinner

A Matsuri (Temple Festival)

 
* In later editions these two plates were replaced by "A Group of Fisherwomen" and "The Tentosai Dancing."

Dating this Book
Colophons, Japanese Text, Inside Back Cover

Colophon, 3rd Edition, 1906

The 9 rows of Japanese writing at the right give dates and editions. Starting at the right and reading left they indicate:

Meiji 29 (1896) - 1st edition printed
Meiji 29 (1896) - 1st edition distributed
Meiji 36 (1903) - 2nd edition
Meiji 39 (1906) - 3rd edition