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The inside of the front cover most often featured the title of the publication, in what is called a ''naidai'' (内題, "inside title"), along with the name of the artist(s), author(s), and publisher. This information might, alternatively, be found on the first page of the book.
The inside of the front cover most often featured the title of the publication, in what is called a ''naidai'' (内題, "inside title"), along with the name of the artist(s), author(s), and publisher. This information might, alternatively, be found on the first page of the book.
The title could also often be found on the ''hashira'' or ''hanshin'', in an inscription called a ''gyobi'' (魚尾, "fishtail"). Though found on the outer edges of each page in a completed book, and potentially difficult to read, these would have been clearly visible in the center of each page as printed, prior to the construction of the book, along with the page number, helping ensure that pages were kept in the correct order, and with the correct publication, during the process of the book's construction. The ''gyobi'' is often accompanied by a black box known as a ''kurokuchi'' (黒口, "black mouth" or "black box").
The inside back cover of a book often contains a more detailed version of this information. Known as the publisher's colophon (''okutsuke'' 奥付 or ''kanki'' 刊記), this generally includes at minimum the date of the carving of the blocks and the name and address of the publisher; note that books were often re-printed and re-issued numerous times, and the date in the ''okutsuke'' remains the date that the woodblocks for printing this book were originally carved, and thus does not reflect the actual printing/publication date of that particular volume, which may be a second-, third-, or even fourth-printing. Sometimes multiple publishers are listed; in this case, the last name on the left is typically the ''hanmoto'' (板元), or the owner of the woodblocks, and thus owner of the publication rights, so to speak, though concepts of intellectual property and publication rights functioned quite differently at that time. The ''okutsuke'' often also included, once again, the names of artists and authors, as well as, sometimes, block carvers or others involved in the production of the work. In many Edo period commercially published books, the last several pages of the volume (before the ''okutsuke'') featured advertisements for other offerings from the same publisher.
The inside back cover of a book often contains a more detailed version of this information. Known as the publisher's colophon (''okutsuke'' 奥付 or ''kanki'' 刊記), this generally includes at minimum the date of the carving of the blocks and the name and address of the publisher; note that books were often re-printed and re-issued numerous times, and the date in the ''okutsuke'' remains the date that the woodblocks for printing this book were originally carved, and thus does not reflect the actual printing/publication date of that particular volume, which may be a second-, third-, or even fourth-printing. Sometimes multiple publishers are listed; in this case, the last name on the left is typically the ''hanmoto'' (板元), or the owner of the woodblocks, and thus owner of the publication rights, so to speak, though concepts of intellectual property and publication rights functioned quite differently at that time. The ''okutsuke'' often also included, once again, the names of artists and authors, as well as, sometimes, block carvers or others involved in the production of the work. In many Edo period commercially published books, the last several pages of the volume (before the ''okutsuke'') featured advertisements for other offerings from the same publisher.