Thematic Exhibition Chōshū Zasshi:
The Secret Encyclopedia of the Owari Domain

There is a series of geographical books titled Chōshū zasshi that was secretly stored at the Owari clan’s official residence in Edo (Tokyo). They were first compiled by a feudal retainer of the Owari domain named Naitō Tōho (Masamitsu) (1728-1788) in the latter half of the 18th century. After Tōho's death, a feudal retainer of the same domain named Akabayashi Nobusada bound them into one hundred volumes and presented them to the domain. It is believed that the books were kept secret because they contained a lot of detailed information about the inner workings of the Owari domain.
Chōshū zasshi are not only books on simple geography; they have quite diverse characteristics. For example, they describe minute insights into the history, manners and customs of the domain, quoting from other books and making comparisons. Treasured objects, plants and animals drawn in the books are realistic and vividly colored, conveying a sense of historical documentation as well as records of natural history. In this sense, the books could even be called an encyclopedia of the Owari domain. Tōho's colorful illustrations, in particular, constitute the greatest feature of the books. These illustrations give the readers a rich visual image of the material and conveys the true form of the Owari domain in the Edo period.
In this exhibition, the volumes of the Chōshū zasshi, the only copies of which survive in the Hōsa Library collection, will be displayed all together. We hope you will enjoy the colorful yet vivid world of the Owari domain in the Edo period through the images of treasures, plants, animals, and daily life and culture as described in these books.