八重山童謡集 / Collection of Yaeyama children's songs

This is a letterpress printed book, edited by Iwasaki Takuji, also known as Itokazubaru Shujin, and published in 1912. It contains children songs collected in the Yaeyama region and also their lyrics and translations. It was revised by Iha Fuyū, who also wrote the preface. It consists of two parts: daytime songs and nighttime songs. Iwasaki was born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1869. He started working at the Ishigaki branch of the Central Meteorological Observatory on Ishigaki Island in 1898 and stayed there until he passed away in 1937. Besides his work at the weather observatory, he was diligent in his research on Yaeyama's customs and culture and often presented his valuable works at academic conferences. In his later years, he was affectionately called tenmon'ya nu ushumai (weather grandpa) by people of Ishigaki.