Shu no kigen - seizon kyoso tekisha seizon no genri [Origin of Species - The Competition of Survival and the Principle of the Survival of the Fittest].

First edition thus. Photographic frontispiece and one folding table. 8vo. Original cloth, occasional minor foxing, but overall a very good copy. Collector's stamp on title (Yamakoshi zosho), corresponding small label on front board (Yamakoshi Yasuji Collection) [iv], 104, 8, 20, 894, 28, [iv], [12](ads.)pp. Tokyo, Tokyo Kaiseikan, dated: Meiji 38,

First edition of the translation by the noted biologist Oka Asajiro (1868-1944). The first translation of 1896 was compiled by a lawyer Tachibana Sensaburo who was not fully versed in Natural History terminology. For example, his title 'seibutsu shigen' literally means 'the origin of organisms' rather than 'the origin of species'. That translation was subsequently (mis)used by political thinkers to advocate the superiority of the Japanese race. Oka's translation was explicitly made for the purpose of advancing scientific understanding in the field of biology and zoology but Oka also tried to apply Darwinian theory to solving social and economical problems. We have not been able to identify Yamakoshi Yasuji. Very rare. Only 4 copies in OCLC. 

Stock Code: 245339