In 1823, the German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold arrived in Japan, which had been closed off to the West for nearly two centuries. There - while working from the tiny Dutch trading post Deshima - he was granted the unusual privilege to travel beyond the artificial island. This allowed him to work alongside renowned Japanese artists such as Keiga and Hokusai to glean as much information as possible about the country, its culture and its natural landscapes, introducing Japan to the Western world in texts and stunning images.

The highlight for Siebold was the Court Journey to Edo in 1826, a trip of 2,500 kilometres across Japan. That journey and his compulsive urge to collect objects would come back to haunt him, though. In 1829, he was arrested on suspicion of espionage and banished from the country for life; the Japanese who had helped him were exiled, tortured and imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Despite that experience, once back in Europe, he made huge efforts to collate all his knowledge about Japan in a single monumental work, Nippon.

This unique single-volume reissue contains all the original plates, featuring fascinating illustrations of Japanese rituals, warfare, court culture, traditional dress, landscapes and much more. Kuniko Forrer and Matthi Forrer, experts on Japan, provide the historical context and detailed commentary accompanying all the illustrations.

This new edition of Nippon achieves what Siebold set out to do: introducing readers to the land of the shogun and inspiring wonder at the extraordinary beauty of Japan.

 

'This rare masterpiece is finally getting the wonderful new lease of life it deserves'
- Annejet van der Zijl, author of the bestselling biography of Franz von Siebold and Kusumoto Ine