Title: Illustrated Manual of Medical Plants

Author: Iwasaki Kan’en (1786–1842)

Created / Published: [Place of publication not identified]; [Publisher not identified], 1830–1844

Description:
This work is regarded as the first comprehensive botanical art book in Japan, produced during the late Edo period. It consists of 92 volumes (with volumes 1–4 incomplete) and documents more than 1,900 plant varieties. The book features detailed colored illustrations of wild, cultivated, and imported plant species, accompanied by taxonomic names and biological descriptions.

The classification and arrangement of plants follow the 16th-century Chinese medical text Honzō kōmoku (Bencao Gangmu). Initially intended for publication as woodblock prints, the first volumes were issued in this format in 1830. Due to financial constraints, later volumes were produced through handwritten text and hand-colored illustrations. The series was ultimately completed in 1844, after the author’s death.