MS Japanese 1

A Japanese kabusebori (woodblock print) edition of Shisijing fahui, a study of the theory and practice of acupuncture focusing on the fourteen bodily tracts, with illustrations, published in 1709. The work was first written in 1341 by Hua Shou (1304–1386), a physician of the Yuan dynasty, and printed in 1364. It was first printed in Japan in 1596 and was one of the first books to be printed with movable type. Later movable-type editions are recorded from 1604, 1618 and 1625; block-printed editions are recorded from 1631, 1649 and 1665, and on numerous other occasions up to 1805. It is clear, then, that there was a very considerable market for this work in Japan in the Edo period.

Japan, 1709

Material: paper; １冊 3巻 | 1 volume (3 sections); binding dimensions: height 276mm, width 192mm, depth 14mm