Step back into the dawn of modern Japan with this rare Meiji-era educational woodblock-printed book, Teikoku Shōshi (帝国小史) — “Short History of the Empire.” Written by Yamamoto Saburō and published in Meiji 33 (1900) by Bungaku-sha, this volume offers a vivid account of Japan’s imperial history — from legendary emperors to the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate — through finely printed illustrated pages and classical vertical typography.
The work was used as an official educational reference during Japan’s modernization period, symbolizing the nation’s pride and cultural transformation during the late 19th century. Inside, delicate woodblock-printed portraits of figures such as Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu capture the heroic spirit of Japan’s feudal past in traditional monochrome ink.
This copy retains its original fukuro-toji (Japanese stab binding) and soft washi paper pages — well-preserved with natural aging. A valuable artifact for collectors of Japanese antiquarian books, ukiyo-e era prints, and Meiji education culture.
