a study on merchants copper plate engravings in the Meiji erain the field of historical information studies

本研究旨在通过分析以铜版版画为插图的商人指南书，厘清明治时代商人及其房屋的实际情况。同时，本研究旨在厘清铜版版画作为传播手段的特点。通过分析全日本大约100本书，情况变得很清楚。它们只在明治二三十年代在全日本出版。每一份单据的目的和表达方式都是相似的，可以对它们进行比较，以掌握商人及其房屋的实际情况。综上所述，这些文献对于分析明治时代商人及其住宅的实际状况具有重要的学术价值。

This study aims to clarify the actual conditions of merchants and their houses in the Meiji era by analyzing the merchants guide books illustrated with copper plate engravings. And at the same time, this study aims to clarify the characteristics of the copper plate engravings as the means of communication. By analyzing about 100 books all over Japan, it became clear1. They were published only in the Meiji 20s and the 30s all over Japan.2. The purpose and the expression method of each documents are similar each other, and it is possible to institute comparison between them to grasp the actual conditions of the merchants and their houses.As conclusion, these documents are valuable as the academic resource to analyze theactual conditions of the merchants and their houses in the Meiji era .