Kokoro, Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1896 . First edition. Cloth. Very Good. 7.5" by 5.5". None. The first edition of Lafcadio Hearn's collection of fifteen essays about the inner spirit of Japan in the nineteenth century. The first edition of this work. A series of fifteen essays aimed to capture the spirit of Japan. Once Japan opened up to the West after centuries of isolation, the country had to adjust its customs and beliefs to Western influences. Hearn here reflects on the value of Japanese traditions in popular justice, economy, art, religion, and more. The word 'Kokoro' translated to 'Heart,' offering the reader valuable glimpses into pre-industrial and Meji-era Japan.Lafcadio Hearn was a Greek-Japanese writer, instrumental in the introduction of Japanese culture and literature to the West.With a former owner's inscription, dated 1923, in pencil to the front free endpaper. A further inscription in the same hand reads 'said to be one of the first copies printed'. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Boards bright, with back strip age toned. Light shelf wear to back strip tail. Front hinge strained, but firmly held. Pencil inscription to front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. Pages exceptionally clean and bright. Very Good