Seigaku Shoho, 星學初步 星學初步附録 [Astronomical] 金澤學校, 1871

10 plates. 2 volumes, orig wrappers, large 8vo (27.5x19.5cm). 金澤學校, Kanazawa Gakkō, 明治四年, 1871. Copy no. 215 of a limited issue.

Compiled by Heijirō Ōya, professor of English at the Kanazawa School in Ishikawa Prefecture and a leading intellectual of the early Bunmei Kaika (“Civilization and Enlightenment”) era. One of the earliest Japanese works on astronomy published shortly after the Meiji Restoration, this text reflects Japan’s rapid assimilation of Western scientific knowledge into its emerging modern education system.

The main volume opens with a preface, followed by ten finely printed double-page woodblock illustrations, delicately hand-colored, depicting: the solar system, the earth and its atmosphere, the seasons, the phases of the moon, eclipses, the comparative magnitudes of the planets, tides, the phenomena of day and night, the altitudes of the sun, and the alternation of the morning and evening star (Venus). The plates are numbered 2–11; plate 1 was never issued. The final section includes a “Comprehensive Table of the Planetary System” (Seizoku taikōhyō), summarizing data on the solar planets.

The Supplement (Seigaku Shoho Furoku), translated by Shibaki Shōhei (芝木昌平), serves as a concise explanatory guide to the Seigaku Shoho.

Some worming to the lower right margins throughout, occasionally touching text but not affecting legibility.

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