AN ELEGY ON THE EARTH. And eight other poems in free verse by Nakayama Tadanao . Translated from the Japanese by Miyamori Asataro

Tokyo: Maruzen Company Ltd., 1941.. 1941.. Very good. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY NAKAYAMA TADANAO - Octavo, 8-3/4 inches high by 6- 1/8 inches wide. Softcover, Japanese block stitched black wrappers with a printed rice paper title label on the front cover. The book is housed in a burgundy tri-fold cloth case with a matching rice paper title label and bone clasps. The covers are lightly soiled and creased and the edges of the case are slightly faded. A frontispiece portrait precedes the title page, which is printed on rice paper, followed by 77 numbered pages in French fold and 16 color plates of paintings by the author. Two short poems by Miyamori Asataro are printed at the rear and are dedicated to President Roosevelt and William Castle. Very good. <p>First edition in English.<p>The book is inscribed twice by the author Tadanao Nakayama. It is first inscribed in black ink, using a brush, to Mr. Robert Murphy on the front blank. The inscription is dated Jan. 1st, 1953 and is signed in English and in Japanese calligraphy. A second lengthier inscription is penned in black ink using a brush on the central panel of the slipcase. This time, in his note inscribed to Mrs. Murphy, the author states that "I wish to present America through you, a new work of my own making AMENGLISH, meaning American English, instead of English when they speak of the English Language". Signed Naka-Yama Tada-Nao, with the words "sur name" and "personal name" respectively penned beneath each. The signature is slightly smudged. In addition to these inscriptions, the author has additionally annotated the table of contents in ink. Commenting on the poem "Glory Be on Japan", Nakayama Tadanao states that "In the original of this anthology, this poem is not found. In this translated edition, however, it has been added by the desirer [sic] of Mr. Matu-oka, the Foreign Minister". The letter "l" originally lacking in "translated" has been corrected and added by the author and, with a faint line, he has crossed out the "r" at the end of "desire".<p>A revolutionary as a youth, the poet Nakayama Tadanao spent time in reform camp during which he developed a theory of Japanese Art which he later published in "A New Study of Japanese Art". Turning to the study of Oriental medicine, he published his "New Research on Kampo-Medicine" (1927) among other works.