Illustrations to the Epitome of the Ancient History of Japan,

A curious and scarce volume in which the author seeks to prove a Jewish origin for the Japanese. Elaborately illustrated.

'The illustrations include specimens of the ethnology of the different races in Japan, and their special belongings, Shinto and Buddhist pictures, legends and illustrated proofs of the descent of part of the Japanese race from lost Israel.'

Nicholas McLeod (also known as Norman McLeod, ~1868-1889) was a Scottish independent missionary and businessman. He began his career in the herring fishing industry before arriving in Japan in 1867, just prior to the start of the Meiji era. McLeod was a prominent proponent of the Japanese-Jewish Common Ancestry Theory, believing that the Japanese people were direct descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. In 1875, he published the initial, unillustrated edition of his book, 'Epitome of the Ancient History of Japan'. To visually support his theories, he compiled collections of woodblock prints and lithographs, which were included in the first illustrated edition in 1877 and featured again in this second edition, published a year later.

McLeod claimed that the first known king of Japan was called Osee and came to the throne in 730 BC. McLeod identifying him with Hoshea, the last king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who died in 722 BC. The books contain extensive comparisons of the religious rituals of Judaism and Shinto as evidence of the links between ancient Israel and Japan.

In 1879 McLeod published an expansion of his theory, titled 'Korea and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel', attempting to loop the Korean Peninsula and the Ryukyu Islands into the exact same Israelite migration route. Despite being an outsider writing in English, McLeod's books were translated and widely discussed during the Meiji era (1868–1912). Though his ideas were dismissed by serious academic and theological institutions as a colonial fantasy, McLeod's books left a surprising footprint in Japan. His theories mutated over the early 20th century and were adapted by certain Japanese nationalistic and religious groups who embraced the idea of a secret, ancient connection to the Holy Land.

Second edition; oblong 8vo (18.5 x 28 cm); 82 black and white engravings, many printed recto and verso, 4 pages of introductory text printed on 3 leaves, single printed contents leaf at end, some light offsetting, occasional marginal annotations in pencil, some edges trimmed; modern black half morocco over green boards, green label with gilt lettering to upper cover, a fine copy.