“Ukigumo (Parts 1 & 2) / Futabatei Shimei” ※ This is a used book. ● Title: Ukigumo (Parts 1 & 2) / Complete in 2 volumes ● Author: Futabatei Shimei ● Edited and Published by: Museum of Modern Japanese Literature ● First Edition Published: June 1887 – February 1888 ● Reprint Edition Published: December 20, 1973 (Printed) / January 1, 1974 (Published) ● Size: 130 × 195 × 18mm ● Accessories: Protective shipping box ● Contents ● *Ukigumo* is a work from 1887-1890 (Meiji 23). It is a romance novel centered on the three characters of Bunzo, the protagonist, his cousin Osei, and his friend Honda. It is considered the first modern realistic novel in Japan, written in opposition to Tsubouchi Shoyo's *Tosei Shosei Katagi*, which was said to be the concretization of the theory developed in *Shosetsu Shinzui*, and is regarded as "the first modern novel" in Japan. Tsubouchi Shoyo himself appears under the name "Haru no Ya-nushi" as a co-author of the first and second parts of this work. Moreover, *Ukigumo* was initially published under the author's name "Tsubouchi Yuzo," the real name of Tsubouchi Shoyo. This reprint is the one with "Written by Tsubouchi Yuzo" on the cover. It is also said to be the first novel written in a unified written and spoken style, and the flowing Edo dialect, like that of rakugo storytelling, gives a sense of the atmosphere of Meiji society at the time. In fact, when you read it, there are hardly any punctuation marks, and the sentences continue on and on, giving you the feeling of listening to someone talking on and on. Furthermore, *Ukigumo* was published by Kinkodo, a publishing company founded in Yokohama in 1875 (Meiji 8). It moved to Nihonbashi, Tokyo in 1876 (Meiji 9) and became famous for publishing educational books, mainly textbooks. When it published *Ukigumo* in 1887 (Meiji 20), it launched the literary magazine *Miyako no Hana* the following year, 1888 (Meiji 21). In 1902 (Meiji 25), it launched seven major magazines, including *Shonen-kai* and *Shojo-kai*, and enjoyed a golden age from the 1890s to the 1900s. Kinkodo is still talked about as an important publisher in the Meiji literary world and in the history of modern publishing. Why not read the first hit work of such a major publishing company in its original binding? (To be continued)