Zenken Kojitsu

The Zenken Kojitsu (前賢故実) is a collection of biographies of Japanese historical figures by Kikuchi Yōsai, first published from the late Edo period into the Meiji period. It consists of ten volumes and twenty books in total. Moving through time from antiquity through the Nanboku-chō period, it contains portraits and rough biographies in kanbun of 585 imperial family members, loyal retainers, and historical heroines. It was groundbreaking for its visualizations of Japanese historical figures and has been treasured as a bible for historical art since the rise in national consciousness of the Meiji period.