Nobu Shirase (4 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. The Journal of the Japanese Alpine Club. Volume XXXI, No. 1 & No 2. 1936 By Nobu Shirase and Tatsumi Shimada A very important publication containing four articles by Shirase or about Shirase's Antarctic expedition and his Kuril Islands and Alaska expedition to investigate sea otter and Arctic fox poaching (1893-1895). (See Ross 1.1.1 and 1.1.2). Text in Japanese. A Rare and complete two volume set with Japanese bookseller's wax paper wrappers. In Near Fine condition. Ross 3.16 1. Nankyoku Tanken no Omoide - (Memory of the Antarctic Expedition), by Nobu Shirase. Draft of a speech Shirase delivered on 12 November 1936 about his life's challenges from childhood to the Japanese Antarctic Expedition. pp. 8 text. 2. Chishima no Enkaku - (Summary of Chishima), by Nobu Shirase. A paper written in 1935 summarizing Shirase's experiences during the Kuril Islands expedition. pp. 7 text, plus one unnumbered full-page black-and-white photographic plate. 3. Shiraseshi no Chishima, Alaska Tanken - (Supplement to Shirase's Chishima and Alaska Expeditions), by Tatsumi Shimada. An interesting article describing Shirase's year spent in Alaska. Shirase was a passenger on the 100-ton poaching ships Alexander (Chishima to Alaska) and Roland (Alaska to Chishima). During this year in Alaska, Shirase traveled from Point Barrow to Vancouver. pp. 8 text, plus one unnumbered full-page black-and-white photographic plate. 4. Shiresetai no Nankyoku Tanken Gaivo - (Summary of Shirase's Antarctic Expedition.) by Tatsumi Shimada. An article written about Shirase and Japanese Antarctic Expedition crew members summarizing the two Antarctic voyages. pp. 24 text.

First trade edition, first printing, following the almost unprocurable signed limited edition of 1940. Led by Shirase Nobu, "an adventurer of mythic proportions" (Stevenson), the Japanese Antarctic Expedition set a record for sledging with dogs and, in 1912, became only the fourth in history to cross the latitude of 80 degrees south. Shirase (1861-1946) grew up dreaming of polar exploration and began raising money for an Antarctic expedition in 1909. "In 1910, the 100 ft long Kainan Maru trawler (the 'Southern Pioneer') started the long trip south. The explorers would encounter a similar reception in New Zealand as they did at home - disdain and disbelief that a small boat and crew would withstand the extreme challenges of the icy oceans. Nobu's first attempt at Antarctic landfall ended due to snowstorms and harsh weather, forcing the boat to retreat to Australia. Nevertheless he was undeterred and, after wintering in Australia, the crew ventured south once more. This time they were successful, the Kainan Maru making landfall on the unexplored King Edward VII Land and the eastern part of the Ross Ice Shelf. At this time the Japanese explorer also encountered Amundsen's ship in the Bay of Whales and knew he had been beaten to the pole. Still he continued on, surveying the coastline and leading a small crew close to the pole" (International Antarctic Centre). This was the first full-length attempt to capture Shirase's contributions to the heroic age of polar exploration. The authors worked with Shirase to found the Nippon Polar Research Institute in 1933, the great explorer becoming its first president. After the Second World War, further celebrations of his exploits were intertwined with a new enthusiasm for polar research in Japan, exemplified by the creation of the Showa Research Station in 1956. Shirase's legacy is also celebrated in the names given to the Shirase Glacier and Shirase Coast. The first printing numbered 3,000 copies. The 1940 limited edition was titled Hokuyo Nankyoku no Kaitaku-sha: Shirase Chui. Only one copy of the fifteen is known to have survived. Taurus 76. "Shirase Nobu", International Antarctic Centre, available online; William R. Stevenson III, "The Polar Years and Japan", in David H. DeVorkin, James Rodger Fleming & Roger D. Launius, eds., Globalizing Polar Science: Reconsidering the International Polar and Geophysical Years, 2010. Octavo. With 4 half-tone plates and 2 maps, title page printed in red and black with ship vignette, table in text. Text in Japanese. Original pictorial limp card wrappers, spine lettered in blue and white, front cover lettered in red and blue with penguin vignette, brown patterned endpapers. With pictorial dust jacket. Wrappers lightly creased and foxed but still bright, extremities rubbed, contents evenly toned as usual, plates and first few leaves consolidated at gutter with adhesive; jacket flaps without price as issued, chipping and rubbing, small loss at foot of rear panel: a very good copy in like jacket.

No Binding. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Japanese Antarctic Expedition - 2 original postcards. c. 1913. Captioned in Japanese. Two rare postcards in fine condition representing the Japanese Antarctic Expedition, 1910-12. Led by Lt. Nobu Shirase. Post cards of the expedition were produced after the return to Japan. These were used as part of a larger fund-raising campaign to help pay for the expedition. All post cards unused and in fine condition. One post card shows the two Ainu dog handlers, Yasunosuke Yamabe and Shinkichi Hanamori in their full polar gear and with two dogs. The other post card shows ten staff crew members with nine dressed in their full polar clothing. Lt. Shirase is seated in the center. These two rare images were most likely taken prior to departure of the Japanese Antarctic Expedition. Ross 4.7.2A.

No Binding. Condition: Near Fine. Lieutenant Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition ? 8 original postcards. c. 1913. Captioned in Japanese. With original glassine envelop. Ross 4.7.1A Eight rare postcards representing the Japanese Antarctic Expedition, 1910-12. Led by Lt. Nobu Shirase. Post cards of the expedition were produced after the return to Japan. These were used as part of a larger fund-raising campaign to help pay for the expedition. All post cards unused and in fine condition. Three of the post have small delicate kanji notations in light graphite on the back side.