Manuscript on paper, core title on manuscript labels on both upper covers: "Yoshida ry? y?h?" ????? ["Yoshida School of Falconry"]; text title in first vol.: "Y?jutsu shiki sho kan no hachi yakuh? bu" ??????????? ["Falconry in Four Seasons. Part VIII. Medicine & Treatment"]; text title in second vol.: "Y?jutsu shiki sho hinagata no bu" ????????? ["Falconry in Four Seasons. The Way of Falconry, Illustrated"]

Four anatomical diagrams & two text illus. in Vol. I and many fine & large color paintings & diagrams in Vol. II. 47; 42 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo (268 x 194 mm.), orig. patterned semi-stiff wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: from colophon leaf in Vol. II (in trans.): "Selected by Mori Masayuki ???, age 66, April 1856 [with his two seals]; artist Eish? ?? [artist name Ch?kosai ??? given on final leaf of text in Vol. II], age 66, copied" [with his two seals]. These two finely illustrated volumes describe the art of falconry and the medical treatment of falcons as practiced by the Yoshida ry? school, founded in the 17th century and one of the two most prominent schools for shogunal falconers (the other being the older Suwa ry?). The shogunate granted each school official residences in Edo; the Yoshida ry? was located in Zoshigaya, and Suwa ry? in Komagome. The Yoshida school established its own formal techniques and aesthetics of falconry and, of the two, was considered the more refined, with advanced methods of training, diet, veterinary medicine, hunting etiquette and rituals, and development of specialized perching positions. Our texts were written by Mori (b. 1790), a member of the Yoshida school. He wrote and edited many works on falconry, all of which remained in manuscript. Our two manuscripts are part of Mori's larger work "Falconry in Four Seasons," which he compiled in 1854. Our first volume (Part VIII of Mori's greater work) is concerned with the medical care of falcons and includes discussions of moxibustion, diet, and herbal medicines. Falcons are subject to a number of respiratory, parasitic, and viral diseases, many of which are diagnosed here; remedies using herbal medicines are provided. Falcons also suffer attacks by other birds (cranes, geese, eagles, etc.) and animals, and the text offers treatments for broken claws and beaks, wounds and cuts, bone fractures, and mouth and nostril bleeding. There are instructions on the proper feeding of falcons (meats of various kinds). The illustrations in the first volume depict four anatomical cross-sections of falcons. The first two show moxibustion locations, and the second two show likely areas of injury. Towards the end are another two fine illustrations showing successful and unsuccessful applications of moxibustion. The text also includes many materia medica recipes, dosages, and proper usage. Our second volume is also part of Mori's masterwork and is beautifully illustrated with a series of seven splendid paintings of falcons. The first image identifies and names all the feathers of the bird when its wings are spread, along with the parts of the legs and talons. The other paintings include a careful and detailed image of the head, wings and talons, and images of the bird's physique, one from the posterior and, and another from the front (identifying all the parts of the head). The final image depicts a falcon's skeleton. This is followed by another series of 12 paintings of the falcon's prey (pheasants, rabbits, quail, heron, ducks, etc.). Each prey animal is shown carefully hung and bled. In another series of three pages of paintings, we see the equipment used for training and keeping falcons (baskets and tools) and the very elaborate cages used to transport the falcons. The final pages show a six-page panorama of a falconer carrying a falcon on his arm to the field, prey flying in the distance, the falcon in pursuit, and the falconer separating the falcon from its prey. The final leaf of the second volume bears the seals of the author Mori and the artist Eish? with the date 1856. Fine condition. There is some worming throughout, carefully repaired. Preserved in a chitsu.…