Japanese printed books of the Edo period (1603–1867): history and characteristics of block‐printed books

Printed texts of the Edo period (1603–1867) were almost exclusively produced by woodblock printing, printed on Japanese paper and bound in side‐stitched binding (fukurotoji) with Japanese paper covers. This article examines the physical traits of block‐printed books of the Edo period. It looks at the writing systems, book dimensions and cover decoration, along with genres and their association with certain physical characteristics.