Account of four sailor's round-the-world travels from Ishinomaki to Nagasaki, (1793-1804). These hand-copied volumes comprise an illustrated account of 16 Japanese sailors who were shipwrecked on the Russian coast in the winter of 1793. They ended up travelling from Russia, where they stayed almost ten years, to Great Britain, the Canary Islands, Brazil, the Marquesas, and back to Kamchatka. The text was compiled by Otsuki Gentaku and Shimura Kokyo, who interviewed four members of the crew after they were handed over by the Russian Mission to the Nagasaki magistrate's office in 1804.
15 volumes with a preface copied into 10 volumes. No calligrapher's name. The original version was created in 1807 [Bunka 2], but no printed versions appeared until the late nineteenth century. Original account transcribed by Otsuki Gentaku and Shimura Kokyo.
Chinese ink and water-colour paint. Many colour illustrations. Binding: Fukurotoji. Buff covers.