An exceptionally scarce collected edition of an unusual privately printed Tokyo periodical, preserving twenty-nine issues devoted to Japanese history, culture, literature and society through an engaging question-and-answer format.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Edited by Don Brown.
Title: Japan Queries & Answers.
Place: Tokyo.
Publisher: Don Brown.
Date: 1964.
Edition: First collected edition.
Contents: Twenty-nine issues, each between 8 and 18 pages (typically 14 pages), including Issue 17 supplied in publisher's facsimile and an original copy of Issue 16 laid in.
Index: Original printed index covering Issues 1–20, loosely inserted.
Binding: Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt.
Format: Quarto.
Size: Approximately 28 × 20.3 cm (11 × 8 inches).

Condition

Very Good. The blue cloth has only very light surface dirt and minor edgewear, with a slight lean to the binding and lightly bumped corners. The contents show gentle uniform age-toning. Collector's bookplate to the front endpaper. Issue 17 is present in publisher's facsimile, while an original copy of Issue 16 is loosely inserted. The index shows a little edgewear. Overall, an attractive and well-preserved copy of a publication seldom encountered.

Please ask if you require a more detailed condition report, or examine the gallery images closely.

Description

An exceptionally scarce first collected edition of Japan Queries & Answers, a remarkable privately published periodical edited by Don Brown in Tokyo during the 1950s and early 1960s. Produced in very limited numbers for a small readership of expatriates, visitors and enthusiasts of Japanese culture, the publication remains one of the more unusual English-language reference works devoted to post-war Japan.

Unlike conventional magazines or scholarly journals, Japan Queries & Answers adopted an engaging question-and-answer format. Readers submitted queries concerning virtually every aspect of Japanese history, customs, literature, religion, geography and everyday life, with detailed responses appearing in subsequent issues. The result is an endlessly entertaining mixture of serious scholarship, practical information and intellectual curiosity.

The range of subjects covered is extraordinary. Questions explore topics as diverse as Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, Japanese painting, poetry, folklore, archaeology, horse racing, judo, hermits, earth spiders, Lafcadio Hearn, Basil Hall Chamberlain, American aid, famous historical figures, regional customs and place names, alongside countless lesser-known aspects of Japanese life and culture.

Because the questions originated from foreign residents and travellers, the publication provides a fascinating insight into the subjects that most intrigued Western visitors during Japan's period of rapid post-war reconstruction. At the same time, the carefully researched answers frequently preserve specialist information that was not easily accessible in English-language books of the period.

Issued only sporadically—usually every few months but occasionally separated by almost a year—the newsletter was never intended for wide commercial distribution. Its private production explains its exceptional rarity today, with comparatively few copies surviving outside the hands of the original subscribers.

This 1964 volume gathers together twenty-nine issues into a single substantial reference work. Issue 17 is supplied in the publisher's facsimile, while an original copy of Issue 16 has been preserved separately and remains loosely inserted. Also present is the original printed index covering Issues 1–20, greatly enhancing the usability of the collection.

The original blue cloth binding, lettered in gilt, transforms what began as a series of ephemeral newsletters into a durable research volume. The format allows readers to browse individual questions or consult the index in search of particular subjects, making the work as enjoyable for casual reading as for serious reference.

We have been unable to trace another copy of this collected edition and therefore believe it was produced in a very limited circulation. It is also uncertain whether any issues beyond the twenty-nine present here were ever published, further adding to the bibliographical interest of the set.

Today the work possesses significance far beyond its original purpose. It offers a unique record of English-language interest in Japan during the 1950s and early 1960s, preserving contemporary perspectives on Japanese society at a time when the country was rapidly re-establishing itself on the international stage. It will appeal equally to collectors of Japan, travel, cultural history, expatriate publishing and unusual periodicals.

A genuinely uncommon publication whose breadth of subject matter ensures almost endless enjoyment for the Japanophile, while its rarity makes it an outstanding addition to collections of Japanese history, English-language publishing in Asia and twentieth-century cultural reference works.

Notes

The loosely inserted index covers Issues 1–20 and provides a valuable guide to the remarkable breadth of subjects discussed throughout the series.

The inclusion of an original Issue 16 alongside the publisher's facsimile of Issue 17 preserves the publication substantially as assembled by Don Brown for this scarce collected edition.