Hakodate, Hakodate Kyodo Bunkakai, 1953. 2 vols. small 8°, softcover in original wrappers, tied oriental style and printed on double leaves and housed in a blue paper case with tie strings intact, color illustrations, [174] unnumbered pages + 2 maps, [4], 59, [3], 30, [6] p.
A nice copy. This set is numbered 492. The author was a merchant and headman of his district when American Admiral Perry came to Hakodate (now Hokkaido), and this is his account of the opening of Japan. Kojima’s text is given in english translation (by Alice Cheney) and in japanese in volume one. Volume 2 is a facsimile of Kojima’s handwritten original journal, with bright color illustrations and diagrams. Kojima was a government official (and an amateur artist) who recorded his culture-shocked impressions of Commodore Perry’s uninvited arrival at Hakodate in 1853. The first volume reproduces Kojima’s manuscript journal; the second volume contains a printed version of the journal plus an English translation by Alice Cheney (as improved by others), as well as 2 maps and an English-language key to the maps.