Atlas of Forest Trees in Japan consists of two volumes. The author is Yasumi Shirasawa (1868~1947), who held a Doctor of Science degree in forestry and was the first President of Japanese Forestry Society, and an engineer of the Bureau of Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. Published in the 33rd year of the Meiji Period (1900), the first volume includes 88 plates of the trees in Japan painted by Nobumitsu Maruyama. The second volume was published eight years later, in the 41st year of the Meiji Period (1908), and contains 74 plates of trees drawn by Hideo Oishi. The two volumes together record 162 species of forest trees in Japan. The plates feature both the exterior appearance of each species and sectional profiles, as well as detailed illustrations of the transverse sections and the grain of each tree. The atlas is the earliest application of three-dimensional illustration techniques for the rendering of trees. Along with the rich shades and bright tones used to color each plate, the complexity and sophistication of the drafting capture each tree in remarkable vividness.

Note. The book was published in 1900.

Digital Archives Project of TFRI＇s Library of Forestry Literature in The Period of Japanese-Database of TFRI’s Forestry Literature in the Period of Japanese Colonization