Ukiyo Karakuri Seiyō Megane (The Machinations of the Floating World Through Western Lenses)

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Ukiyo Karakuri Seiyō Megane ["The Machinations of the Floating World Through Western Lenses"]

Oka, Jōki [Kawahara Eikichi] [text by], Kanagaki, Robun [proofread by]; Seisei [Kawanabe], Kyōsai [illustrated by]. 

[Tōkyō]: Bankyūkaku, [preface dated Meiji 6 (1873)].

The complete first series (all published) of a little-known collaboration between Robun, Kyōsai, and Oka Jōki (d. 1889, also known as Kawahara Eikichi, Kawahara Fūrai and Fūrai Sanjin (III)). Jōki, the author, wrote for the Kaishin Shinbun (1878-1894) and was an engineer with the Tetsudō-ryō (Railway Office) Department of the Ministry of Industry. The author's pseudonym incorporates a playful reference to his profession; Jōki mimics the pronunciation for the Japanese word for "steam engine". The kanji provided in the title for the furigana gloss "karakuri" can also be read kikan; this word was used as an equivalent of the English "organ" or "machine", meaning that when the title kanji are read without the furigana the meaning can change to something like The Public Engine Through a Western Mirror (or, as William Wetherall suggests on his News Nishikie webpage, The Machinations of the World in a Western Mirror). The kanji for the inner title can also be read Kōko Kikan Seiyō Kagami. The wrappers of both issues are blind embossed with the flags of foreign countries, reflecting the work's main theme of the book - Westernisation (and modernisation) in Tokyo and Yokohama, set against the backdrop of the opening of the railway. Japan's first train service opened between Shinbashi (Tokyo) and Yokohama in 1872. No complete (physical) sets traced outside of Japan in OCLC.

First series (all published). Two four-hole-bound (yotsumetoji) volumes, complete, on double leaves, traditional East Asian binding style (fukurotoji). Original wrappers lightly creased, scraped, and marked, those of v.2 ink marked. Original woodblock-printed daisen title panels present. Unobtrusive ink stain to fore-edge of v.2. Sticker removals to upper pastedown of v.2 Ex-ownership stamp to first text page of v.1. Occasional small marks and creases internally. Leaf extremities slightly browned. 21; 22 leaves. 17.9 x 11.8 cm. 

❧ Wetherall, William. "News Nishikie". Accessed December 18, 2023. http://www.nishikie.com/almanac/Almanac_newspapers.html.

Ukiyo Karakuri Seiyō Megane (The Machinations of the Floating World Through Western Lenses)
Price: $2,150.00 (USD)