A fine Meiji-era Confucian educational text, titled 正續文章軌範獨學講義 巻三 (Seizoku Monjō Kihan Dokugaku Kōgi – Volume 3), authored by Mori Shōshō (森昌章). Printed in Tokyo in the early 20th century, this book was used by advanced students to study classical Chinese prose (kanbun), rhetoric, and moral philosophy based on Confucian ideals.
Each page presents model essays, philosophical passages, and commentary drawn from major Chinese classics and Tang-Song scholars such as Han Yu, Li Zongyuan, Wang Anshi, and others, annotated for Japanese readers. The crisp movable-type typography and the elegant blue washi paper binding (fukurotoji style) reflect the refined educational printing of Meiji Japan.
This volume forms part of a larger pedagogical series that aimed to train the intellect and moral reasoning of Japan’s scholars during its modernization period.
Technique: Movable metal-type printing on washi paper
Binding: Traditional fukurotoji (pouch binding) with blue indigo cover
Language: Classical Chinese (kanbun) with Japanese glosses
Content: Philosophical essays, moral commentary, stylistic models
The Seizoku Monjō Kihan series epitomizes Meiji Japan’s moral and literary education. By mastering kanbun composition, students trained both linguistic precision and Confucian ethics. This blend of Chinese classical scholarship and modern Japanese pedagogy was central to forming the educated elite of early 20th-century Japan.
