Old Japanese Books My collection of old Japanese books includes poems, samurai stories, Noh theater chants, thick accounting records, and an old dictionary. This last book, written about 1750, is my oldest. In addition to definitions, it has herbal remedies and tofu recipes. The kanji characters brushed onto the accounting pages have great grace and delicacy. But it is funny to see mistakes from 100 years ago crossed out and corrected in red ink. All have an equal chance of becoming part of my next collage.