Nōgyō zensho 農業全書

Archive Unit
  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 59 16034.a.15
  • Dates of Creation
      1697
  • Language of Material
      Japanese
  • Physical Description
      11 volumes Condition: Good, apart from minor worm damage in maki 3, 5, 7 and 9. Impression: Atozuri, from blocks showing considerable wear. Illustrations: Five double-page sumizuri illustrations preceding main text of maki 1, described by Richard Lane as 'in the style of Ōmori Yoshikiyo' (大森善清). They depict stages in rice cultivation. Numerous inset sumizuri vignettes of plants and fruit throughout the work. Seals of ownership: One square red seal, printed inkoku, Ibaraki [?] [?] 茨城□□, on tobira at head of maki 1, but this is likely to be the publisher's seal and not a seal of ownership.

Scope and Content

Author/compiler: Miyazaki Yasusada 宮崎安貞, 1623-97. 11th and final maki compiled by Kaibara Rakuken 貝原樂軒, 1625-1702. Imprint: Edo, Tomino Shōunsai; Kyōto, Ibaraki Tazaemon, Genroku 10, 1697. Mokki on fol. 38b of maki 11 reads: 元禄十丁丑年七月穀日 ／ 武江書林富野松雲齋 ／ 京都書林茨城多左衛門 ／ 壽梓. Description: 11 kan, 11 satsu, in a modern chitsu case. (Maki 1) ff. [1] (tobira), [2] (publisher's note), 3 (congratulatory letter addressed to Kaibara Sonken, i. e. Ekiken, by Sassa Sōjun 佐々宗淳), 3 (preface by Kaibara Ekiken), 6 (自序 by the compiler dated Genroku 9, 1696), 7 (凡例), [1] (目録), 6 (illustrations, headed 農事圖), 54; (maki 2) ff. [1] , 47; (3) ff. [1] , 37; (4) ff. [1] , 34; (5) ff. [1] , 36; (6) ff. [1] , 46; (7) ff. [1] , 32; (8) ff. [1] , 32; (9) ff. [1] , 45; (10) ff. [1] , 26; (11) ff. 36, 3 (後序 by Kaibara Yoshifuru 貝原好古). 22.8 x 15.7 cm. Fukurotoji. Blockprint. Printing frame 18.9 x 13.7 cm. Single-line borders. No fishtail design on hanshin. Hiragana-majiri text with printed furigana and punctuation marks. 10 lines to page, 23-24 characters to line. Original mid-blue covers, with original printed title slips on left. Gedai: Nōgyō zensho 農業全書 + sub-heading appropriate to each maki. Title from naidai. Hashiragaki: Nōgyō 農業 + maki no. + folio no. Edition: A late printing of the first edition, which was followed by further editions in Kyōhō 6 (1721), Tenmei 7 (1787) and three more in late-Edo period. Contents: A comprehensive work on agriculture, the first systematic work of its kind, by the agronomist Miyazaki Yasusada who travelled widely in western Japan to gather material by direct observation. Patterned on the Ming agricultural encyclopedia Nongzhen qanshu 農政全書. Contents deal with methods of cultivating grain crops, vegetables, fruit, etc. Supplement in maki 11 by Kaibara Rakuken is based on a draft by his elder brother Ekiken.

Access Information

Not Public Record(s)

Unrestricted

Acquisition Information

Acquired by purchase, 5 Aug. 1958.

Other Finding Aids

Kenneth Gardner, Descriptive Catalogue of Japanese books in the British Library printed before 1700 (London and Tenri, 1993). C. Japanese works 和書 16. Agriculture 農業

Bibliography

Kokusho kaidai 国書解題, p. 1585.