Very good condition overall. The page displays slight creasing consistent with age and handling, along with very minor insect damage and light staining. There is no noticeable water damage. The ink remains dark and well-preserved, with the lines retaining excellent clarity. The print has been professionally framed in a modern frame for preservation and display. The visible print measures approximately 18 x 23 cm, with the frame slightly larger.
This original Meiji-period woodblock-printed page comes from Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan (藻塩草近世奇談), a collection of mysterious and supernatural tales compiled by Shinoda Senka and published in 1878 (Meiji 11) by Tsutsumi Kichibei.
The illustrations were created by Nagashima Mōsai, an artist active during the transition from the Edo to Meiji periods and sometimes associated with the name Utagawa Mōsai. His work reflects the enduring popularity of traditional Japanese storytelling at a time when the country was rapidly modernizing.
Moshiogusa Kinsei Kidan gathered together strange tales, ghost stories, supernatural encounters, and dramatic legends that had circulated throughout Japan during the late Edo period. Such books were highly popular among ordinary readers, offering a mixture of entertainment, folklore, morality tales, and the uncanny.
Published only a decade after the Meiji Restoration, the work represents an interesting moment in Japanese cultural history. While Japan was embracing new technologies and Western ideas, readers still eagerly consumed traditional stories of ghosts, mysterious events, heroic deeds, and legendary figures. Books such as this helped preserve centuries of oral and literary traditions for a new generation.
The bold illustration and sharp woodblock carving demonstrate the craftsmanship of Meiji-era commercial publishing, when illustrated books remained one of the primary forms of mass entertainment.
A well-preserved example of early Meiji popular literature, suitable for collectors of Japanese folklore, ghost stories, woodblock prints, and nineteenth-century illustrated books.
