Condition. The books are in Good+ condition. The bindings are solid. The covers have light soiling and scrapes and small edge tears. Sections (less than 1 inch) of the spine coverings are missing. Internally the books are in clean and in Very Good condition. There are no markings. Foxing and toning is primarily confined to the front and rear of the volumes.

 
Sakaguchi Soichiro:
Okinawa Shashincho, Dai Isshu (Vol I) and Dai Nishu (Vol II), Wakayama (Vol I) and Osaka (Vol II), Taisho Shashin Kogeisho, Wakayama (Vol I) and Osaka (Vol II), Taisho 14 (1924) and Taisho 15 (1925), horizontal 8vo (6 x 9 in - 15 x 22.5 cm), stiff decorated wraps, string ties, text entirely in Japanese, Japanese language colophon at the rear, each book with 50 black and white collotype plates from photographs and descriptive text page. The first volume contains a frontispiece plate so there are a total of 101 plates in the two volumes.

The images in these volumes were taken by Sakaguchi Soichiro, a well known photographer of this time. The 101 images in these two books capture Okinawa as it was in the early 1920s. Cultural assets receive strong emphasis and include Shuri Castle (and the famous bell), Shueimon (Gate of Courtesy) and the Hoji Bridge at Enkaku Temple. There are general panoramic views including Naha, Shuri and Naga. Okinawans are pictured engaging in every day pursuits (farming, making mochi, weaving). Many of the plates show Okinawan flora and fauna. This is a comprehensive study documenting many aspects of Okinawan cultural properties that would be damaged or destroyed approximately 20 years later in the battle of Okinawa. The images are high quality collotype prints which are far superior to the half-tone prints which were the principal method of photo-mechanical printing by the time these books were produced.

Covers. The covers are lithographed in multi-color.

Format. The book reads Japanese style. The plates are high quality black and white collotype printed. The image is on one side and text is printed on the other. The collotype images are on the left and the related descriptive text (in Japanese) is on the right. At the lower right of each image is a descriptive caption in Japanese. The images occupy approximately 80% of the page. The general size of the image area of a page is 4 x 5 3/4 in (10.2 x 14.8 cm).

Volume I. Contains a title page, a black and white collotype frontispiece protected by tissue guard, 2 pages of introductory text (printed front and back), listing of plates (1-50), 50 plates, unnumbered text pages, colophon inside of the back cover. This is book, dated Taisho 14 (1924), is the first printing of this volume.

Volume II. Contains a title page, calligraphed page protected by a tissue guard, 2 introductory pages printed on one side only, one with a green background, listing of plates (1-50), 50 plates, text pages numbered (1 to 50), the back of the last plate contains a page of text, colophon inside of the back cover. This book, dated March of Taisho 15 (1925), is the third printing of this volume.

Listing of Plates.
 


Colophon (Volume I)

Volume 1
Printed:  Taisho 14 (1924), 2.15
Published:  Taisho 14 (1924).2.25
Taisho Shashin Kogeisho
Wakayama

Listing of Plates.
 


Colophon (Volume II)

Volume 2
Printed, 1st Printing:  Taisho 14 (1924).11.1
Published, 1st Printing:  Taisho 14 (1924).1.15
Published, 2nd Printing:  Taisho 15 (1925).1.15
Published, 3rd Printing:  Taisho 15 (1925).3.1
Taisho Shashin Kogeisho
Osaka