Acupuncture

47108 — Juko Jushikei Hakki. Three parts in one volume. Kyoto Enami Jinbee Genroku 8 = 1685. 4to size 27.0 x 19.0 cm. Xylographically printed on 69 double leaves folded in an accordion or oriental style with 16 full-page woodcut plates. Original blue paper wrappers with xylographic text vignette on front. Contained in a modern blue cloth box made in Japanese style. = Very rare illustrated work on acupuncture. Bibliographically little is known about this work. It was anonymously published and our copy seems to be a second issue. Mestler describes a similar work that was issued in 1684; this copy was published in 1685. The book was written in classical Chinese in Japanese typescript. The author claims that he bases his writings on several classic Chinese medical texts from the 14th and 15th century. The beautiful illustrations appear to be made in the style of the mid-14th-century Chinese classic “Shi si jing fa hui” An Elucidation of the Fourteen Channels by Hua Shou. The plates show bodies of men with the acupunctural nodes indicated. The first 10 leaves have extensive contemporary handwritten annotations in two different hands in red and black. Minor worming to lower blank margin of last two leaves. Wrappers with some wear and slight loss of blue paper some uniform light age toning but otherwise a very good copy of this rare work. Mestler A Galaxy of Old Japanese Medical Books II 474-475. hardcover