Rare first edition of the account of Siebold's second and final journey to, and stay in, Japan, from 1859 till 1861, written by his eldest son, Alexander von Siebold (1846-1911), who accompanied his father Philip Franz von Siebold (1796-1866) on the trip and gives a lively account of their experiences. They travelled first to Batavia and then to Japan, where they stayed in Von Siebold's home Narutaki near Nagasaki. Von Siebold practised medicine there as he had in the 1820s, and many of his old patients and students came to visit him. Von Siebold also continued to search for material for his botanical collection. Alexander's account informs the reader about religious customs and literature, his own experiences in learning to speak Malayan and Japanese, and mastering the difficult art of writing Japanese using the Chinese "kan" (kanji) characters, also discussing the Japanese hiragana and katakana syllabary systems. Besides the four pages of advertisements (by Kisak Tamai and Foek) following the main text, the paste-downs contain further Kisak Tamai advertisements.
Slightly browned, but otherwise in very good condition. Wrappers slightly soiled. Cordier, Japonica, col. 477; not in Nipponalia.