A beautifully preserved Meiji 45 (1912) Japanese Confucian textbook titled 正續文章軌範獨學講義 巻四 (Seizoku Monjō Kihan Dokugaku Kōgi, Volume 4), authored by Mori Shōshō (森昌章) and printed in Tokyo by Ōkusa Jōshō (大草常章).
This volume belongs to a renowned educational series used by scholars and teachers to study classical Chinese prose (kanbun) — the literary foundation of moral and political education in early modern Japan. Each page features vertical movable-type text with detailed annotations and interpretative glosses, reflecting the Confucian emphasis on moral cultivation and stylistic mastery.
Bound in blue washi paper with traditional Japanese stitching, this edition is both a scholarly and aesthetic artifact, symbolizing Japan’s intellectual heritage during its modernization.
Language: Classical Chinese with Japanese annotations
Format: Fukurotoji bound, blue paper cover
Printing: Movable metal type on washi paper
During the Meiji period, kanbun remained the intellectual backbone of Japan’s literary education. Works like this were essential for students, scholars, and civil servants, embodying the ideal of self-cultivation through study (dokugaku). Printed with precision and elegance, this textbook is a tangible link to Japan’s Confucian scholarly tradition at the dawn of the modern age.
