Condition.

Part I (Wounded Pride). The book is in Good+ condition. The string ties are approximately 70% broken. However the binding remains firm. The front cover is slightly loose. The back cover is solidly attached. There are several long vertical creases on the front cover. On the edges and internally there is scattered foxing. It is heavier at the front and back and otherwise light and scattered. Several pages are dog eared or creased at the corner. None of the pages are cut or severed at the folded edge. If the string ties were replaced, the book would rate Very Good.

Part IV (Musashi, Part II). The book is in Good+ condition. The string ties are approximately 80% broken. The front cover is slightly loose and the corners are bend and chipped. The back cover is solid and the bottom outside corner is chipped. On the edges and at the front and back there is scattered light foxing. Otherwise, internally the book is clean and free of faults. None of the pages are cut or severed at the folded edge. If the string ties were replaced, the book would rate Very Good-.

 
Dening, Rev. Walter:
Japan in Days of Yore, Part I, Wounded Pride and How it was Healed, Second Edition, one part of a four part set, Tokyo, The Kyo Bun Kwan, 1904 (Meiji 37), stiff wrap covers illustrated in color, 12 mo (5 x 7 1/4 in - 12.7 x 18.3 cm), string ties, text in English and on folded pages, Japanese language colophon at the rear, 5 double page color prints (10 leaves of plates), text and plates, 1 page poem by William Cullen Bryant before the title page, 2 page preface, 2 page appendix, numbered pages 1-70. The spine is not covered except for approximately 3/4 inch (1.8 cm) at the top and bottom. The title page only states the title as Japan in Days of Yore, Part I.

 
Dening, Rev. Walter:
Japan in Days of Yore, Part IV, The Life of Miyamoto Musashi, Part II, Second Edition, one part of a four part set, Tokyo, The Kyo Bun Kwan, 1905 (Meiji 38), stiff wrap covers illustrated in color, 12 mo (5 x 7 1/4 in - 12.7 x 18.3 cm), string ties, text in English and on folded pages, Japanese language colophon at the rear, 6 double page color prints (12 leaves of plates), text and plates, numbered pages 245-343. The spine is not covered except for approximately 3/4 inch (1.8 cm) at the top and bottom. The title page only states the title as Japan in Days of Yore, Part IV.

 
The double page color prints are printed on one side only. It appears that they were printed on a single sheet which was then folded at the middle and bound into the book with the open edges out. The woodblock print pages are not numbered or included in the page count.

Wenckstern discusses the Second Edition and subsequent "New Edition" of 1906 in these terms:

Dening, W. Japan in days of yore, historical tales of Old Japan. Second revised edition printed and bound in Japanese fashion with old style coloured prints, small 8vo, Tokyo, 1904-5 (each volume, 60 sen). Only four volumes were issued in this edition.

New edition, greatly enlarged, printed and bound in European fashion, without illustrations, 622 pp., 8vo, Tokyo, 1906. (Y2.50). This new edition contains ten stories, the former ones only four. For first edition see Wenckstern, vol. I., p.96. [Wenckstern, Vol. II at page 106]

The Second Edition was published by The Kyo Bun Kwan (Kyobunkwan) in four parts.

Part I. Wounded Pride and How it Was Healed, 1904, pages 1-70 pages.
Part II. Human Nature in a Variety of Aspects, 1904, pages 71-153.
Parts III. The Life of Miyamoto Musashi, Part I, 1905, pages 154-244.
Part IV. The Life of Miyamoto Musashi, Part II, 1905, pages 245-343.

The four parts of this set were first published by The Hakubunsha in 1887-1888. For more information on the first edition, click here.

The order of Parts I and II is reversed in the second edition from the order in the first edition. The pages in the four parts of the second edition are numbered continuously across the books - beginning at page 1 and ending at page 343 in Part IV. In the first edition, the numbering is restarted at 1 in each part. The first edition is bound using the more elaborate and substantial Kangxi binding string tie technique. The second edition is bound using the simple and flimsy Yotsume Toji binding string tie technique.

The color woodblock plate illustrations in the first and second editions are basically the same. However, there are variations in color.

 
Title Page

 
First Page of Text

 
Color Prints in Part II.
(Images below are from the First Edition. The same images are presented in the Second Edition with some variations in color).

 
Title Page

 
First Page of Text

 
Color Prints in Part IV.
(Images below are from the First Edition. The same images are presented in the Second Edition with some variations in color).

 
Colophons

Part I

Printed and Published: Meiji 37 (1904)

Part IV