William Blake — Songs of Innocence (Japanese Translation, 1932) Privately Printed in Kyoto — No. 112 of 115 — Inscribed by renowned Scholar and Translator Bunsho Jugaku
 
Exceptionally scarce 1932 Japanese translation of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence, privately printed by Kōjitsuan (Sunward Press) in Kyoto ahead of the Blake exhibition at the Kyoto City Museum of Art. One of only 115 copies, this example numbered 112 and highly sought after by William Blake collectors and completists. 
 
Translated and edited by Bunsho Jugaku (1900–1992)—Japan’s pioneering Blake scholar, bibliophile, and co‑founder of the Sunward Press, known for its Kelmscott‑influenced craftsmanship and handmade washi papers.
 
This copy is inscribed on the flyleaf by Jugaku and his wife Shizuku, dated October 21, 1933, to noted Boston collector Carl Tilden Keller (1872–1955). Laid in is an original 1935 photograph of Jugaku and Shizuku outside their home near Kyoto in late summer of 1935. (A note on the slipcase shows that Keller received the book from japan on 11/13/33).
 
Features - Large 8vo (9¾ × 7½ in.), cloth boards with paper spine label, 21 plates printed in green ink, each hand‑colored, with tissue guards, Handmade paper, uncut edges; Jugaku’s own binding design, original slipcase present (light repairs), book with mild bumping and light foxing.
 
A beautifully produced private‑press edition with distinguished provenance. Copies of this 1932 printing seldom appear on the market, and inscribed examples are especially sought after.