Notes

An exceptionally rare, complete founding membership packet issued during the establishment of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in April 1895 (Meiji 28). This surviving specimen preserves the Society's original three-part recruitment package exactly as it was distributed. The intact set consists of the Founding Prospectus, the detachable Membership Application, and the complete Society Regulations, all securely bound by the original traditional Japanese watoji stab-binding thread. The packet documents the legal and organizational foundation of what would become Japan's premier national martial arts organization, outlining its objectives, membership structure, governing regulations, and the planned construction of the Butokuden in Kyoto. Of particular historical significance is the inclusion of the original architectural site plan together with the complete regulations, providing a rare, unified record of the Society's initial recruitment campaign and administrative framework. The intact original binding provides important physical evidence of the document's authenticity and preserves the manner in which these materials were originally assembled and distributed to prospective founding members.