Nagasaki Miyage [Nagasaki Souvenir].

First edition. Woodblock printed book containing 2 single-page and 14 double-page illustrations. 8vo. Original cover and title-slip, some wear and rubbing throughout. 40ff. Nagasaki, Yamatoya Yoshihei Juo, dated Koka 4, [i.e. 

Written during the final years of the Edo period this account of Nagasaki describes the customs of the Dutch and Chinese merchants in Nagasaki. The Dutch had been trading from the artificial island of Deshima since 1641 while Chinese traders were based at the Tojin-yashiki [Chinese residence] on the facing hillside since 1635. Information about their activities was tightly controlled by the bakufu. The remarkable illustrations include a woodblock print of an elephant brought to Japan as a present for the Shogun as well as a portrait of opperhoofd Blomhoff's wife who came to Japan in 1817. The book is published one year after the arrival of two naval vessels under command of James Biddle in Edo Bay. 

Stock Code: 233364