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Books
in Japanese & books related to Japan
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1.
Haruki Murakami Surprisingly,
first editions of Murakami in Japanese are not that highly priced
(often lower than the first editions in English). The reason is partly
because collecting modern firsts hasn't caught on in Japan the way it
has in the West, and partly because Japan is only just beginning to
wake up to Murakami's international status as a novelist.
Click
here
for
more highly collectible Murakami titles, in English as well as Japanese.

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Book: ノル ウェーの森 (Noruwei no mori)
English title: Norwegian Wood
Edition: first edition,
first printing
Condition: Both volumes
fine, in fine dust jackets, with publisher's wraparound bands (obi in
Japanese), also fine
This set is SOLD, but
I have other sets for prices between about $80 and $200, depending on
condition.
e-mail
More Murakami
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The
colophon statement on both volumes identifies this set of
Norwegian Wood as
the first edition, first printing
of Murakami's work in Japanese, making it
the true first edition worldwide.
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If you are going to invest in Japanese first editions,
Murakami is a good bet. Prices have been rising steadily, both in Japan
and abroad, over the ten years or so that I have been involved in
buying and selling his works. But it is crucial to ascertain the
authenticity of what you are buying...
Anyone
who wants to learn more about identifying Japanese first editions, or
about technical aspects of Japanese books, please click here.
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Click
here to check
out other Murakami titles!
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2.
Meiji period woodblock books
These little books are a fascinating relic of a bygone age. They are
typically made from folded sheets of rice paper, bound in soft covers
and threaded together (fukuro-touji
binding).
Click
here
to
see more books of this kind.

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The publication
date is partially obscured by the binding, but can still be clearly
identified.
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Book title: Iwami Jutaro Ichidaiki (岩見重太郎一代記)
English title: A Biography of Iwami Jutaro
Publication
date: February 31st,
1889
Size: 6.5 x 4.5 inches
Condition: Very good plus
This set is SOLD, but I have a fair number of books of this
type. Contact me for
details.
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The books
themselves are in excellent condition, with no worming or other
significant flaws, which affect so many books of this period and of
this type. The last picture shows the column of print giving the date
of publication. It is partially-obscured by the binding, but still
clearly legible.
More
like this
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Iwami Jutaro is a legendary hero of the 16th century,
serving under the daimyo General Toyotomi Hideyoshi. It is not clear who the author of
this edition was. It was customary to give the name of the author,
artist and publisher on the cover of the second or last volume of such
publications, but this set carries only the words "金英堂梓" (Kineido Azusa), without saying what part she
played in the production of this book.
Since her name crops up in
relation to a 19th-century Tokyo bookstore it seems more likely that
she commissioned or published, rather than wrote, the book. Japan's National Institute of
Informatics (which has taken over from NACSIS as the main
bibliographical record of Japanese books) does not record this work,
but that is not much of a surprise; publications of this kind were
basically ephemera, and only a fraction of them have been properly
catalogued. However, it does list two 19th-century biographies of Jutaro, one (in a two-volume set, like this one)
by Shonosuke Onishi,
and one by Kinnosuke Maki. Only one copy
of each of these is recorded, and I have not had an opportunity to view
either. It is possible that this is taken from (or is an edition of)
one of these two versions.
3.
Japanese Movies
Posters,
memorabilia, etc.
Click here
to see more like this.
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1960
poster for Nagisa Oshima's
movie The Sun's Burial, distributed in Japan mainly for the benefit of
American troops stationed in army bases. There's a small tear/crumple
towards the top of the right-hand side, just under the telegraph pole
(pictured right). Otherwise flawless.
Price: $75 e-mail
More movie memorabilia

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More
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Click
here
for more Mishima items, including two very
special signed presentation copies given by Mrs.
Mishima to Paul Schrader,
director of the movie "Mishima".
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Book: 金閣寺 (Kinkakuji)
English title: The Temple of
the Golden Pavilion
Edition: first edition,
first printing (Oct. 30, 1956)
Condition: Fine, in fine
dust jacket, with publisher's wraparound band, also fine
This copy has
been SOLD, but
e-mail me
for
details of other copies or similar items.
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5. Edo
Period
Click here for
more Edo
period items.
Kaibara Ekiken (Ekken;
also Atsunobu), Nikko Meishoki
(A
Record of a Beautiful Sunny Place), Shoutoku
4 (i.e.,
1714). 18 cm. First edition, [1], 47, 8, [1] leaves, illustrations
accompanying
every page of text, maps. Only two holding libraries in Japan (Tsukuba
and Nakiyoudai). Published in the year of
the author's death.
Very good plus, with some worming and other signs of age. Pages of
folded rice
paper, fukurotouji binding.
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