Kokushi Daijiten [國史大辭典] - Great Historical Dictionary of Japan (Meiji 41, 1908)

Kokushi Daijiten [國史大辭典] – The Great Historical Dictionary of Japan

Published Tokyo, Meiji 41 (1908)
Publisher: Yoshikawa Kōbunkan [吉川弘文館]
Printed by: Naigai Insatsu Kabushiki Kaisha [内外印刷株式會社]
Editors: Hayashi Yū 早川 純 ・ Sugiura Kuni 萩野 由 八 (共同編集)

Description

An important early Meiji-era illustrated volume from the monumental Kokushi Daijiten [Great Historical Dictionary of Japan], published in Meiji 41 (1908). This encyclopaedic work was one of the most ambitious scholarly publishing projects of its time, documenting Japanese civilisation, art, and governance through both text and lavish imagery.

This particular volume focuses on material and ceremonial culture, including court costume, military attire, armour, textiles, furniture, musical instruments, currency, seals, and traditional implements. It is richly illustrated throughout, combining detailed monochrome plates with superbly coloured lithographic and woodblock-printed images.

Illustrations and Structure

Illustrations list: headed Kokushi Daijiten Satsue Mokuroku (List of Illustrations), with thematic sections on crowns, women’s and men’s dress, city plans, castles and shrines.
Chronological tables: pages headed Kokushi Nenpyo Ko (Outline Chronological Tables), aligning reign years, events and genealogies.
Collation: Front matter with seal-script title page and lists, followed by the main encyclopaedic text with illustrations and chronological tables. Pagination in kanji throughout. All sections present as called for in the lists.

Size and Weight

Approximately 258mm high × 200mm wide × 28mm deep.
Weight approximately 1020g (unpacked).

Condition

Ex-library – Birmingham College of Art / Birmingham School of Arts and Crafts. With some unobtrusive institutional ink stamps and faint remnants of label removal to the blank endpaper. Small reference number to base of spine.

Bound in brown morocco leather with gilt English-language title to spine and green cloth over boards. Binding rubbed with wear to corners and board edges but all securely bound and sound.

Textblock with mild age-toning and scattered handling marks; plates remain clean and well printed. Some creasing and light wear to page edges; a couple of fold-out sections with short tears, but overall a solid and well-preserved example for a Meiji imprint.

Background and Significance

Compiled and issued at the height of Japan’s Meiji-era drive to systematise national scholarship, the Kokushi Daijiten was among the first comprehensive historical encyclopaedias produced in the country. Yoshikawa Kobunkan, the publisher, remains a leading academic press, and early Meiji printings like this preserve the period’s original historiographical approach and iconography.

Of special interest are the finely executed colour plates, which use the strong mineral pigments typical of high-quality Meiji printing and combine both Western lithographic and traditional Japanese methods.

Rarity

Original Meiji (1908) printings are seldom encountered in commerce, most surviving in institutional or academic collections. Later 20th-century reissues are more common; early issues such as this are markedly scarcer and valued for their period colour work and early editorial format.

A very good, complete example of this significant Meiji scholarly publication.