古今和漢萬寶全書 (Kokin Wakan Manpō Zensho) — The Complete Collection of Treasures, Ancient and Modern, Japanese and Chinese — is an extraordinary Edo-period woodblock-printed encyclopedia that documents Japan’s traditional metalwork, crest (kamon) designs, and ornamental motifs with remarkable artistry and precision.
This volume, part of a vast cultural compendium, focuses on the art of engraving and decorative metalcraft — detailing the stylistic vocabulary of dragons, phoenixes, floral arabesques, and mythical creatures as used in sword fittings, mirrors, and ceremonial objects.
Each motif is carefully illustrated with fine woodblock impressions in sumi ink, often accompanied by descriptive notes in classical Japanese explaining form, symbolism, and lineage.
One section is devoted to family crests (家紋, kamon), presenting circular emblem designs representing noble houses, temples, and guilds.
These patterns are more than decoration — they embody a visual language of identity, status, and artistic continuity spanning centuries.
Printed on handmade washi paper and bound in fukurotoji format with its original indigo-blue cover, this edition is a superb example of the Edo publishing tradition, where scholarship, craft, and aesthetics coexisted harmoniously.
The detailed dragon borders and floral frames showcase the publisher’s technical mastery, reflecting the era’s fascination with both Chinese classical art and Japanese decorative innovation.
Today, it stands as a museum-worthy artifact and an invaluable resource for collectors, historians, and artisans studying the development of Japanese ornamentation, sword fittings (tosogu), and family heraldry.
Collector’s Note
An exquisite Edo woodblock reference on metalwork and family crests, Kokin Wakan Manpō Zensho captures the refined craft of an age when art was both functional and philosophical.
Its pages offer a visual dictionary of Japan’s artistic lineage — from mythical dragons to elegant mon emblems — all preserved in graceful black ink on handmade paper.
