Published in 2000, The Classical Poetry of the Japanese is a valuable contribution to the field of Asian Studies.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Travelling in order to recover from a nervous breakdown, Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850-1935) arrived in Yokohama, Japan, in May 1873. He was immediately fascinated by traditional Japanese culture. At the same time, the national drive for modernisation in the wake of the Meiji Restoration had created a demand for teachers of English. Chamberlain was taken on as a tutor in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, at the same time studying the Japanese language to such good effect that in 1886 he was made professor of Japanese and philology at the Imperial University (later Tokyo University). This 1888 Japanese primer is split into theoretical and practical parts: a Japanese grammar and a vocabulary of useful words and phrases. Chamberlain gives both literal and free translations of phrases and short texts for the learner. His encyclopaedia of Japan, Things Japanese (1890) is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Basil Hall Chamberlain (1850 1935) first encountered Japan on a journey intended to promote the recovery of his health: he had suffered a nervous breakdown while working for Barings Bank. In May 1873, he arrived in Yokohama, and was immediately fascinated by traditional Japanese culture. The drive for modernisation had created a need for teachers of English, and Chamberlain was taken on as a tutor in the naval academy, at the same time studying the Japanese language to such good effect that in 1886 he was made professor of Japanese and philology of the Imperial University (later Tokyo University). This book, first published in 1890, and going into six editions over the next fifty years, is in the form of an encyclopaedia, with topics from 'abacus' to 'zoology'. It gives an affectionate account of aspects of Japanese culture which Chamberlain realised were disappearing under the relentless impact of Western influence."