Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS
Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room
There are many aspects of my job that I find incredibly rewarding - I get to work with students of all ages (many of whom are using rare books for the first time), instructors from the University of Iowa and beyond who teach me something new with each class, researchers from all over the world who use books like ours for amazing projects, and of course, working with the books themselves.
This month's book blends all of the things that make working with our collection so rewarding: the paper, how it feels, the artistry, how it smells, the printing, construction, content, and evidence of the life it has lived. Simply known as the Medicinal plants scroll, it is an 8-meter scroll from Japan's Edo period (1603-1867) containing beautiful hand-painted illustrations.
Although 8-meters, it rolls up into a very compact package that will sit nicely on our shelves. It is not the size of the scroll that matters, however, it's how you use it. Japanese hand-scrolls, or emakimono, are not meant to be read or displayed completely unfurled. Rather, each panel should be read, one at a time, starting at the right and reading to the left. The right hand works in concert with the left to roll up the scroll at the same time as a new panel is exposed. This is considered especially important for narrative scrolls, such as the famous Tale of Genji.
Emakimono, distinguished from hanging vertical scrolls, or kakemono, are a form of communication almost as old as the Japanese written language. Starting with characters imported from China in the 5th century, the Japanese written language has evolved substantially since then. The use of Chinese characters, however, lasted for centuries. In fact, many of the Japanese books in the Rare Book Room collection use Chinese characters, including the Medicinal plants scroll.
Please read more about this beautiful scroll below.
This purchase was made possible by the generosity and foresight of Dr. John Martin to support the JMRBR with an acquisitions endowment.
Stay well, have a great Thanksgiving, and happy reading!
Fall & Spring Hours
The Room is available Monday-Thursday, 8:30-5:00 (U.S. Central) and Friday by appointment. FACE MASKS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED. To guarantee the room is available, please contact me at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu.