HEROIC JAPAN, A HISTORY OF THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA & JAPAN

Yokohama: Kelly & Walsh, nd [1896], first edition, original cloth with gilt lettering to spine, gilt lettering and colored emblem to front cover, 23x15cm, complete with pp.556, 4 full-page plates, 5 maps (4 folding), countless in-text portraits of Japanese officers, original errata sheet laid in.  Condition VG+ with all text pages, plates, and maps present and attached in sound, tight binding, no rips or tears, lacks the blank rear endpaper.

The striking illustration on the front cover is based on The Imperial Japanese Order of the Golden Kite, a military decoration for bravery and leadership established in 1890.  It features a golden bird with outspread wings over crossed shields and crossed spears with banners, with Mount Fuji in the background.

The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) was fought between the Qing dynasty of China and the Meiji Empire of Japan, primarily for hegemony over Korea.  The war concluded with a decisive victory for Japan, resulting in a profound shift of regional power in East Asia while demonstrating the success of its modernization reforms and exposing the severe weaknesses of the Chinese military.  The treaty, printed here in full, forced China to cede Formosa and certain mainland territories. It also ended Korea's tributary status to China, paving the way for Japan's increasing influence and eventual annexation of the peninsula in 1910.

Published shortly after the war, this book was the first extensive documentation of the conflict in any language.  Co-authored by an American resident of Japan and a Japanese writer, the tone is unabashedly pro-Japan, claiming that the war was necessary to free Korea from the Chinese yoke.  The chronicle details the era's major military engagements, strategic shifts, and clashing political perspectives.

In 1904, Kentaro Kaneko, a special envoy from Japan, gave a copy of Heroic Japan to U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt — the two were casual acquaintances from their days at Harvard University.  Roosevelt expressed his gratitude to Kaneko for this and another book, Bushido: The Soul of Japan, both of which helped explain the Japanese national character and samurai spirit to the American president.

A London edition was published in the following year (1897) but an internet search finds only recent, print-on-demand copies of the book.  Such copies typically do not include plates and maps.

Ships from the United States.