Manuscript on paper, entitled on first leaf "Sakikusa ko" ["Thoughts about the Reishi Mushroom"]

Two full-page richly hand-colored paintings of the mushroom. 24 folding leaves. 8vo (278 x 197 mm.), orig. decorated wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: copied after 1850.


A near-contemporary manuscript copy of Suigetsu's Sakikusa ko, published in 1850; this is an early account of the lingzhi or reishi mushroom.


"Ganoderma lucidum, an oriental fungus, has a long history of use for promoting health and longevity in China, Japan, and other Asian countries. It is a large, dark mushroom with a glossy exterior and a woody texture. The Latin word lucidus means "shiny" or "brilliant" and refers to the varnished appearance of the surface of the mushroom. In China, G. lucidum is called lingzhi, whereas in Japan the name for the Ganodermataceae family is reishi or mannentake. [In various Chinese materia medica] the mushroom was attributed with therapeutic properties, such as tonifying effects, enhancing vital energy, strengthening cardiac function, increasing memory, and antiaging effects. According to the State Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (2000), G. lucidum acts to replenish Qi, ease the mind, and relieve cough and asthma, and it is recommended for dizziness, insomnia, palpitation, and shortness of breath."-Sissi Wachtel-Galor et al., "Ganoderma lucidum (Lingshi or Reishi). A Medicinal Mushroom" in Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects (2nd ed.; Taylor & Francis, 2011).


Recent studies have indicated that reishi mushroom is useful in treating cancer, viral and bacterial infections, diabetes, and liver and gastric injury.


Our manuscript is a page-for-page copy of the original 1850 edition.


Fine copy. Minor marginal worming. Seal of the prominent Japanese specialist in materia medica, Shuji Tanba (1828-1908).