Zokui Yosan Shinron. [Additional New Theories on Sericulture]

Historically significant and exceedingly scarce nineteenth century Japanese treatise on sericulture (the making of silk), by the man who remembered as "the father of modern sericulture and silkworm rearing methods", describing and illustrating his then revolutionary methods for better nurturing of the silk worms from which the fine thread is harvested, and ultimately producing higher quality silk, the inventions having become the standard for the industry and still employed today, produced in woodblock print. 8vo. 3 volumes, 278 pages combined, plus publisher's details to yellow frontis leaf in first volume. The complete text, illustrated with 10 pages of wood printed illustrations, two of which are fully hand coloured, and two being partially hand coloured. Traditional karitoji binding ("semi-bound" meaning title page and contents without a book cover) string-stitched at spine, fukurotoji style ("bound-pocket" with folded leafs bound into spine), and opening from left to right. Black paper covers, with title label to front, the first volume with a red ink stamp to publisher's detail leaf. All text is in Japanese. Together the volumes measure approximately 14,5 x 22 x 3 cm. Minor wear to boards, otherwise very good and original condition, internally bright, a pleasing historic work dealing with silk production in Japan. Tajima Yahei (1822-1898) was an influential silk farmer in the early Meiji period, whose legacy is that of a tremendously prosperous impact on the sericulture industry of Japan, with his development of a ventilation theory and method which proved to be highly successful and subsequently laid the foundations for modern sericultural production, and the most efficient design of a sericulture space. He had a small laboratory where he researched silkworm hybridization and silkworm diseases with the aid of a microscope, which was unusual in Japan at the time. Yahei's experiments in creating an ideal sericulture space led to his invention of a new sericulture theory and technique, the seiryo-iku. He concluded that sericulture is best carried out in a space with efficient cross ventilation, which includes a roof system and openings on four walls. He perfected these procedures at his own home, the farmhouse known as 'omoya' built in 1863, referred to today as the Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm (Tajima Yahei kyu-taku), which is located in the Sakaishima neighborhood of the city of Isesaki, in the southern part of Gunma Prefecture. Silkworm growers travelled from far and wide to observe and learn the techniques and processes developed and implemented on this revolutionary farm. Yahei was also involved in exporting silkworm eggs and earned large profits from it. Yahei's techniques later became a foundation for the secchu-iku theorized by Takayama Chogoro, founder of Takayama-sha Sericulture School, which acted as a training centre and formal education institution for sericulture. Yahei also became one of the leading figures who developed the village of Shimamura through his achievement in sericulture. Born in 1822 as Tajima Kuniyasu and Yahei (the second), throughout his childhood, he travelled to advanced sericulture areas with his father in order to gain skills and experience in silkworm breeding, production and sales. Yahei's silkworm farm is one of the earliest examples of architecture specifically designed to improve sericulture.