Nihon Minzoku Zufu (Picture notes on native customs of Japan)

Doshun Mori's Nihon Minzoku Zufu—translatable as "Picture Notes on Native Customs of Japan"—belongs to the tradition of illustrated ethnographic albums that documented regional occupations, seasonal observances, ceremonies, and material culture through woodblock-printed images and annotation. Such works served as visual records of practices that were changing or at risk of disappearing under modernization, combining the observational precision of the woodblock medium with brief textual description. Mori's album would likely encompass a range of subjects: artisans at traditional crafts, agricultural and fishing practices, festival costumes, religious customs, and household implements specific to particular regions of Japan. The woodblock medium, with its capacity for precise line work and controlled color areas, suited the descriptive purpose of such documents. Works in this genre descend from Edo-period encyclopedic illustrated publications, including the Jinrin kinmozui and similar compilations, and continue into the Meiji and Taisho periods as tools of cultural preservation and nationalistic documentation.