■ Explanation
　The book profiles doings in Japan from January to December. The 12 months are divided into two volumes.
　 The first volume begins with an English rendering of the famous 31-syllable "tanka" poem by the Zen monk Ikkyu: "At every door the Pine-trees stand; One mile-post more, to the spirit land; And as there's gladness, so there's sadness." It proceeds to a detailed description of New Year's customs and activities, including the display of straw festoons with a bitter orange, ferns, and evergreens attached; the use of the word "omedeto" as a New Year's greeting; and the games of "karuta" cards (utagaruta and hanagaruta) and "sugoroku" (i.e., a kind of backgammon) played by children. In the illustration for January, a ricksha passes in front of a house decorated with "kadomatsu" pines and kimono-clad women holding "hagoita" battledores. Also in the picture is a "Mikawa manzaishi" (i.e., comic storyteller) and Japanese-style lion dance.
　 The author is Japanese, and the descriptions of life and functions in other months are equally detailed. In addition to that mentioned above, the illustrations in the first volume depict the procession of an Edo "daimio" (i.e., feudal lord) in the new year, the grove of plum trees in bloom in the Kameido district of Tokyo, the Doll Festival on Girls' Day, the viewing of cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, the transplanting of rice shoots in paddies with even children helping out, the Iris Festival on Boys' Day, and the festival at Hiyoshi Sanno Shrine. The subjects of those in the second volume are the "Bon Festival" (i.e., Buddhist All Souls Day), a tug-of-war, the viewing of the full moon in mid-autumn, a sumo match, rice milling, a garden with chrysanthemums, the making of rice cake, and a wedding. Unfortunately, the book does not list the name(s) of the illustrator(s) who created these illustrations symbolic of the old Japanese year.