Kokubunsha advertisement pp.2 and 3.
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Kokubunsha advertisement p. 4.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Detail map of 45, 2-chōme, Izumi, Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

A: 45, 2-chōme, Izumi, Suginami City, Tokyo, Japan

Kokubunsha of Tokyo Issues one of the Earliest Advertisements for Western Style Printing in Japan

1884
Kokunbunsha Printing Office advertisement p. 1
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Western style printing came late to Japan because their non-alpabetic writing system did not adapt well to printing by movable type. Kokubunsha of Tokyo appears to be one of the earliest commercial adopters of Western printing technology in Japan, primarily for the printing of books in Western languages. This 4-page advertisement that I found inserted in a copy of Kanda's Notes on Ancient Stone Implements, &c. of Japan printed by Kokubunsha, with 24 lithogaphed plates in 1884, describes their printing capabilities in both English and Japanese.

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