A rare and expansive Edo-period illustrated encyclopedia, this woodblock-printed compendium gathers knowledge from across traditional Japanese and Chinese disciplines. It includes history, cosmology, fortune-telling, palmistry, seasonal charts, poetry, temple records, and biographical portraits — all in one thick, richly detailed volume.
Inside you’ll find:
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Historical and biographical entries, including illustrated portraits of well-known Chinese generals and cultural figures
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Divination charts, astrology diagrams, and symbolic cosmology
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Palmistry illustrations (hand-reading lines and interpretations)
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Full-page scenes of daily life, rituals, countryside landscapes, fishing boats, temples, and workmen
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Calendrical & seasonal tables, auspicious-day charts, and traditional almanac content
- Dense, beautifully printed Edo-period calligraphy, accompanied by marginal notes from past readers
Books that combine history, fortune-telling, palmistry, and practical knowledge in a single encyclopedia are extremely collectible and rarely survive complete. The variety of illustrations and diagrams makes this volume a treasure for collectors of Edo scholarship, esoteric studies, and woodblock printing.
Historical Background
During the Edo period, encyclopedic hyakka-sho (百科書) offered a wide overview of knowledge for merchants, monks, astrologers, physicians, and educated townspeople. These compendiums blended:
- Traditional Chinese learning
- Shinto-Buddhist cosmology
- Divination and almanac sciences
- Illustrated biographies
- Practical guides for daily life
This volume reflects the intellectual world of the late Edo era, when printed books spread knowledge across all social classes.
Rarity & Collectibility
- Thick, multi-section woodblock compendium
- Contains many illustrations: portraits, rituals, palmistry, charts, landscapes
- Excellent example of Edo esoteric & educational publishing
- Highly valued by collectors of Japanese folklore, divination history, Edo books, temple studies, and classical Chinese culture
Large encyclopedic volumes like this are increasingly rare, especially in such complete form.
Item Details
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Genre: Encyclopedia / historical compendium / divination & palmistry
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Period: Edo era (late 1700s – early 1800s)
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Format: Woodblock-printed, many illustrations
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Content: History, divination, astrology, palmistry, rituals, seasons, classical biographies, charts
A remarkable and unusual Edo book — the type that almost never appears on the market.
