铁道旅行指南 — 1914 年日本铁路指南，附歌川国貞版画 - 纸 - 日本 - 1900-2000

Item Description
Tetsudō Ryokō Annai (鐵道旅行案内) – Antique 1914 Japanese Government Railway Bureau Travel Guidebook, Not-for-Sale Edition, with Utagawa Kunisada Woodblock Illustrations
A rare and evocative piece of early 20th-century Japanese travel literature: the "Tetsudō Ryokō Annai" (Railway Travel Guide), compiled and published by the Tetsudōin, the Imperial Japanese Government Railway Bureau that administered the nation's railways between 1908 and 1920. The colophon confirms this is the enlarged and revised edition, printed 20th June and published 23rd June, Taishō 3 (1914), by printer Takahashi Kikichi at the Hakubunkan Printing House in Tokyo. Notably, the book is marked 非卖品 (hibaihin) — "not for sale" — indicating it was originally produced as an official, non-commercial distribution copy by the Railway Bureau rather than sold to the general public, which adds to its rarity and historical interest.
This substantial guidebook covers railway travel the length of Japan, from Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe to the far reaches of Hokkaido, with detailed regional descriptions and station listings. It is richly illustrated with black-and-white photographic plates of scenic and cultural landmarks — including Okayama's Kōraku-en Garden with its castle and cranes, Sapporo's Nakajima Park, the volcanic scenery of Lake Tōya, a Trappist monastery, salmon-curing operations, and timber yards at Kushiro — alongside views of Tokyo (Asakusa Park at night, the Bank of Japan, Akasaka in cherry blossom season), the Great Buddha of Kamakura, and Tsurugaoka Hachimangū Shrine.
The volume is further embellished with fine reproductions of colour woodblock prints from the celebrated "Tōkaidō Gojūsan-tsugi" (Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō) series, signed by the renowned ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Kunisada (also known as Gountei Kunisada, later Toyokuni III), depicting scenes such as the Sanjō Ōhashi Bridge in Kyoto and the honjin post-station at Seki. A fold-out map of the area surrounding Kyoto is also included.
The soft cover is bound in textured cloth-effect paper stamped in gold and green with the title and a stylised landscape design of reeds, hills and water. A wonderful survivor of Japan's early railway-tourism boom, this guidebook offers a fascinating window into how the country was presented to travellers over a century ago, at a time when rail travel was rapidly opening up Japan's interior, coastal and northern regions to the public.

Size
Height: 17.5 cm
Width: 11.5 cm
Depth: 3 cm

Weight
459 g / 0.459 kg

Condition
The softcover binding shows notable wear consistent with age and use, including rubbed and frayed corners, surface staining and soiling to the covers, and toning, foxing, and scattered brown spotting to the text block, most visible along the gutter of some illustrated plates; the spine and page edges show some separation and minor tears.

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