1796 Japanese Settsu Travel Guide Edo JAPAN Woodblock Print Samurai Illustrated



An exceedingly rare, 18th century set of handwritten woodblock prints of scenic tourist areas in Edo during the mid to late Edo period bound in the “fukurotoji (variously translated as “bound-pocket,” or “pouch” binding)” style (Keio). This travel guide was authored by Akisato Ritō with multiple illustrators and is titled ‘Settsu Meisho Zue’ (Pictorial guide to scenic spots in Settsu). Settsu includes most of Osaka and Hyogo Japan. It was published in response to the popularization of travel.



Consumers of meisho zue did not use them as travel guidebooks, but rather as stimulants to engage in a premodern mode of virtual travel, by which they enjoyed vicarious experiences of place without the attendant corporeal and economic drawbacks of physical travel. Such book-based experiences of geography were essential to the considerable commercial success of Miyako meisho zue because they satisfied a desire for leisurely accumulation of geographical fluency among a truly diverse readership, which ranged from samurai to commoners, townspeople to villagers, old to young, and men to women.3 Shunchōsai’s depiction of the Fourth Avenue Riverbed was meant to transport the reader to this place, not actually but virtually (Goree).



"Settsu Famous Places" was published in Kyoto in "Famous Places of the City", which is a part of the “Famous Places of Japan” series that begins with a picture and introduces famous places of Settsu Country (currently from northern Osaka to southeastern Hyogo) with pictures. In addition to historical sites, it provides easy-to-understand explanations of festivals, customs and special products, including poetry, combined with detailed and realistic illustrations based on local interviews.



This rare, 1786 travel guide of woodblock prints contains 15 double- and 1 single-page illustrations including temple scenes, samurai battles, city, and mountain views, plus much more!



Item number: #10794

Price: $550



RITO, Akisato



An Illustrated Guide to Settsu (摂津名所図会) Akisato Ritō's Settsu meisho zue



naniwa(ōsaka): sekigyokuho, Kansei 8 [1796].



Details:

Collation: Complete;

References:

Kazuko Hioki; Characteristics of Japanese Block Printed Books in the Edo Period: 1603 – 1867.

Robert Goree; Meisho Zue and the Mapping of Prosperity in Late Tokugawa Japan

Keio University, JAPANESE CULTURE THROUGH RARE BOOKS

Kansai University in 2015 (Naniwa Osaka Research) [Research representative: Yoichi Hase].

Language: Japanese

Binding: Softcover; tight & secure

Size: ~10.5in X 7.25in (26.5cm x 18.5cm)



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