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[Kyoto 1697, Umemura]. Blue stitched wrs., very good, covers basically clean, scuffed, rubbed, tiny bit of old worming in vol. 1, else clean, entirely woodblock printed on hand-made paper, 43 woodcut illustrations, 8 volume set, complete. . *** **** *** . . AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE & EARLY ILLUSTRATED RESOURCE . . . COMPLETE IN 8 ILLUSTRATED VOLUMES AS ISSUED . * A most famous and valuable illustrated biography & historical work. . The FIRST EDITION of this was published in 1635 and is a biography of Yoshitsune. complete in 8 stitched & beautifully woodblock illustrated volumes. . Per Toda: "The illustrations suggest was a sugared pill of warning against the occupants of the Yoshiwara. Drawings are in simple outline, with here and there a note of black. Another GIKEI-KI, an extremely rare series of historical books on Yoshitoshi and his time, profusely illustrated and with some sets coloured by hand appeared in Shohho 2 [1645]. It is one of the most interesting works of the period, and when complete in 8 volumes in which it was issued is very valuable." See pp.32,33, et al. . * The title is written in Kambun [old Chinese characters as used by Japanese] the common title reading: GIKEI KI YOSHITSUNI KI in Japanese. . This set is complete in 8 uniformly bound volumes and follows the original in volume count & contents, 18 x 25.5 cm., as cited in Brown's bibliographical notes, see below. . *** ABOUT YOSHITSUNE: . Yoshitsune was the son of Mina-Moto No Yoshitomo, his father turned against the Taira clan in the Heiji uprising. Yoshitsune entered Kuramadera temple in Kyoto to become a monk. Around 1180, he joined his half-brother to fight the Taira and at the famous battle of Dan No Ura spelled the end of the Taira. Yoshitsune and his famous retainer Benkei are the subject of a good number of dramatic books & stories performed as Kabuki plays. . This work outlines the life of Yoshitsune until his death at the hands of the Yoritomo forces. With a group set of charming woodblock illustrations. One in particular shows a young Yoshitsune testing his arm and sword against a solid tree, another shows him in a successful defense against four assassins as he beheads two and cuts another in the heart as blood sprays forth, the fourth attacker flees for his life. . *** THE ILLUSTRATIONS: The work is nicely woodblock print illustrated in black outline with a good number of examples. . Per Toda: There is a complete list of text pagination & illustrations of the 1635 edition, but he also cites the 1659 edition as well. . Per Toda, there are no titles to the illustrations nor is any artist indicated. Each illustration was divided into two, printed on the front & back pages of the sheet. In many cases two plates are used to show a successive single picture. See Toda, pp.28-30. . *** Color photos are posted to our website. . *** CONDITION: The set is bound in the original indigo-blue paper over boards with stitched spine as issued by the publisher. . Volume 1 front cover has more rubbing than the other volumes, including to the title slip. With some usual loss [see photos posted to our website], typical cover, edge, corner & spine wear, and rubbing to the blue paper covered covers with some typical minor loss & chipping. . The balance of the volumes show the minor and typical corner, edge & spine wear, all volumes art firmly stitched. Contents is clean, there is a touch of the usual but minor old worming in vol. 1. [first page], some minor worming to the last few pages. Also some minor worming to the last few pages of vols. 7 & 8, very minor loss, back covers rubbed, old worming, but solid and stable. No illustrations are affected. . The impression & registry are excellent & firm, the contents are clean, no stains or issues. There is some of the typical old worming here and there by and large mostly not a great distracting affecting the text or illustrations. All in all the contents & illustrations are quite clean and nice. . Seldom found & seldom foun.
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