Hokuetsu Seppu (Ã¥ÂÂè¶Âéªè "Snow stories of North Etsu Province"; translation: Snow Country Tales: Life in the other Japan by Jeffrey Hunter with Rose Lesser, Weatherhill, 1986) is a late Edo-period encyclopedic work of human geography describing life in the Uonuma area of Japan's old Echigo Province, a place known for its long winters and deep snow.
First published in Edo in 1837, Hokuetsu Seppu was written by (1770âÂÂ1842), a textile merchant and leading townsman of Shiozawa, a settlement on the old Mikuni Highway. The work, an immediate best seller that eventually encompassed seven chapters when a second volume was published in 1841, covers a wide range of local topics from the varieties of snow to the customs, lifestyles, local dialects, hunting practices, industries, and folk tales of Japan's snow country. The text covers 123 themes from multiple angles and is also richly illustrated with detailed sketches.
âÂÂa gesaku writer and brother of Santà  Kyà ÂdenâÂÂassisted with publication of the text. He wrote the preface and drew the illustrations, which were based on Bokushi's originals.
Some of the material in the book is of scientific interest. For example, it contains sketches of 86 types of natural snowflake crystals, copied from Sekka Zusetsu by Doi Toshitsura who made the sketches with the aid of a microscope during his 20 years as daimyà  of the Koga Domain. An 1840 edition included an additional 97 sketches by Doi Toshitsura, copied from his expanded edition Zoku Sekka Zusetsu. Thereafter, the snow crystal became a popular design motif on kimono and on chawan, Japanese tea bowls.